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Madagascar Ammonite Necklace

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Madagascar Ammonite Necklace   This necklace includes:
*Madagascar ammonite cut by Eidos
*Pearls
*Vintage Czech beads
*Tiny antique hearts
*Sterling mounting and findings

Length:  17" (43 cm)
Extension:  5" (13 cm)
Tassel from top of ammonite:  9" (23 cm)
Ammonite: 2" x 2.75" (5 cm x 7 cm)
Weight:  3.8 oz (118 gm)

Photo: Melinda Holden


  Item #211     Private Collection
Please click on the image for a detailed photo.
 
I was entranced by this beautiful fossil. I hope you can see from the photos that some of the chambers have pockets of tiny drusy crystals of mossy green and dark pink. The piece is supported by a sterling back, although the fossil itself is very hard. Gourd stitch surrounds the ammonite. Seed beads form its tentacles, with luscious old caramel opalescent Czech glass beads at the tips.

The ammonite is an extinct marine mollusk having a coiled shell made up of a series of chambers. They first appeared during the Silurian Period (435 million to 410 million years ago) and were abundant and widespread in the seas of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (175 million to 65 million years ago). Ammonite shells are very similar in design to those of the nautilus. The ammonite shell is generally coiled in a flat spiral. Within the coil is a series of progressively larger chambers divided by thin walls called septa. Only the last and largest chamber was occupied by the living animal. The junction where the septum and the shell wall met left visible seams, called suture lines, that are are zigzagged while those of the nautilus are straight. These suture lines are very evident in this piece, and make a beautiful design amidst the chambers.

See: "Ammonite (mollusk)," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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All designs © Mary Hicklin 2001-2004