The centerpiece seems to be a sweet little dish with fluted edges. The back seemed more interesting than the inside of the dish, but you could flip it over if you prefer the lighter-colored side. Old Roman glass is being excavated today in Afghanistan and this unusually large piece is intact aside from the contemporary holes drilled into it before I got it. Please note that the necklace is heavier than most at 8.5 oz.
Sometimes a strand of beads demands I buy it, this was the case with the yummy raw Fluorite beads here. While I recognized the strand as something amazing that I would never find again, there are a lot of bead strands like that and I can't buy them all. I never have any idea why some beads push me around like this, until (sometimes years later) I start looking through my stash for something to complement the Roman glass and ... there they are, saying, "I told you so!" One of Karen's amazing glass beads and one of Mary Tompkins' stoneware birds needed to be included as well. You could say this necklace designed itself.
Just because the piece designed itself doesn't mean it made itself. I used matching Conso (heavy carpet thread) to needleweave the necklace. Because the stones are heavy, thread by itself isn't a good choice as it will stretch over time. Needleweaving to the rescue! I was able to hide heavy 49-strand cable inside the needleweaving to bear the weight without being evident.
Don't let this one get away-- there won't be another! BTW: If you would like for me to lengthen the necklace I can add one or more African brass rings, just let me know.
Please note: The piece is signed and numbered as described though wasn't at the time the photo was taken.