Natural Spinel Gemstone Rainbow Large Artisan Hoop Earrings, Sterling Silver WillOaks Studio Original

Big hand formed coiled sterling silver hoops are wire wrapped to capture a naturally colorful set of faceted spinel gemstones. Nature's primary colors were the inspiration here with shades of blue, red and golden yellow stones. These slightly rustic hoops dangle freely from lever back sterling ear wires for security (I replaced hooks shown in photos with lever backs. One of a kind, original, deluxe artistic earrings. All ready to ship.

I began to work with this coiled hoop design several years ago and it's taken many finished forms over time. This is a larger pair with circles that measure just over 1 1/2" (40 mm) outer diameter They measure 2 1/4" (58 mm) from the top of the ear wire to the bottom of the hoop. 17 faceted spinel rondelles in quite an amazing range of natural colors are arranged along the bottom of each hoop and captured with a sterling wire binding. A unique stone collection and an original creation from WillOaks Studio that is OOAK.

I got my first strand of naturally multi colored spinel stones some years ago and because there was such a wide range of colors included, I wasn't sure where to begin using them. After taking the strand apart and organizing them about a zillion different ways, I finally committed to this collection of naturally primary colors for a portion of the stones, using them in these larger free hanging hoops..

True spinel has long been found in the gemstone-bearing gravel of Sri Lanka and in limestones of the Badakshan Province in modern day Afghanistan and of Mogok in Burma. Spinel is found as a metamorphic mineral, and also as a primary mineral in rare mafic igneous rocks. It has a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale (Wikipedia) Sometimes called the great imposter as the range of colors that it can be found in have similarities to many other different precious stones.

WillOaks Studio earrings are packaged in signature gift boxes for giving and for storage.