'Eilean Naomh' Iona Marble & Tourmaline, on a Scottish Gold & Silver Pendant

Iona Marble

Iona Marble is found by diving from the beaches into under-water seams on the Isle of Iona, Scotland. This 2700 million year old rock is composed of a unique combination of serpentine and limestone. Known by some as the sacred stone of Columba, green marble has been treasured and crafted by jewellers for centuries. On the Isle of Iona the fishermen would not leave port without their lucky green gems. It has been used by healers to help the body return to a time unhindered by the stresses and pollution of modern times.

Tourmaline

Tourmaline is the alternate birthstone for October, for those not keen on the superstitions surrounding Opal! Tourmaline has a variety of colours, and is rarely colourless. Crystals may be green at one end and pink at the other, or green on the outside and pink inside; this type is called watermelon tourmaline. Tourmaline is said to be beneficial by reducing stress and increasing mental alertness.

Scottish Gold

We work with a very small team of dedicated Gold Prospectors here in Scotland, in keeping with our low impact and ethical practices ethos. It's important to us that none of the people we work with source their gold using environmentally destructive methods, such as commercial gold mining.

Our Scottish Gold has been laboratory tested to verify a purity of approximately 18 carats. We hallmark at 14ct as it is the lowest we can legitimately stamp our gold - in reality, a single tiny Scottish Gold flake can vary from 14ct up to 22ct over its structure.

We prefer to leave our gold as is - we never add non-Scottish Gold to bring up the 'carat count', and our Scottish Gold is also completely natural - no toxic chemicals have been added to bring the gold to a specific purity.

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.