Chrysocolla & Malachite Sterling Silver Pendant

Chrysocolla

Chrysocolla is found in Peru, The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Transvaal region of South Africa. This stone forms alongside bodies of copper ore, and copper impurities are to thank for its fantastic colouring. Other copper-bearing minerals such as malachite, azurite, cuprite and turquoise can form and fuse with Chrysocolla, resulting in some extremely interesting and beautiful mixtures of blues and greens, plus mottled/swirling patterns. Loved by healers as a stone of communication, it is said to help with expressing words clearly, calmness when teaching others and inspiring feelings of empowerment when speaking up for yourself.

Sterling Silver (925%)

Why do silversmiths use 925%? Measured in parts per thousand, pure silver (999%) is too soft so silversmiths mix it with other metals to make it it harder. The purer the metal, the higher the polish, but it is a lot softer (thus less durable). The harder the metal is, the more hard wearing the jewellery is, but it will also tarnish easier as it has less silver content. Therefore, the silver industry set a standard percentage content for fine silver (925); what we know as "sterling silver". At Two Skies our silversmiths use 925 (sterling) silver for ring shafts and moving parts, and a very high 950% on our stones settings, which enables us to get a strong jewellery item with a beautiful and secure stone setting, without any gluing. Each piece of our jewellery is hand stamped with our Two Skies Hallmark alongside the recognised industry 925 Hallmark.