Azurite and Malachite Pendant Necklace in Sterling Silver

Azurite and malachite make one of those color combinations that almost doesn’t look natural, except nature got there first. This stone is especially wild, with brilliant green malachite scattered with intense blue azurite in tiny circles, pools and irregular formations. Some of the blue is so saturated it looks almost electric against the green.

Both colors come from copper. Azurite and malachite are closely related copper carbonate minerals that often occur in the same deposits, with azurite gradually altering into malachite under certain conditions. When both remain visible in a single specimen, you get this extraordinary collision of blue and green and a record of geological change happening right inside the stone. It’s part of what makes pieces like this so much more interesting than a uniformly colored cabochon.

I built the necklace around the long rectangular shape of the stone, setting it beneath a curved bar of textured sterling silver with a mass of silver droplets gathered between the two. The darkened recesses bring out all that texture, while the clean sweep of silver across the top gives the necklace its shape and lets it sit beautifully along the neckline. There’s a lot happening here, but it all comes together into something bold, a little strange and very cool.

Azurite has been associated with intuition, insight and the pursuit of hidden knowledge for centuries, while malachite carries an equally old reputation as a protective stone and symbol of transformation. Their histories stretch back into the ancient world, when both minerals were prized not only as stones but as pigments and sources of extraordinary color. Together, there’s a nice bit of magic to them: seeing more clearly, changing what needs changing, and keeping a little protection close while you do it.

✧ Stone: Natural azurite and malachite
✧ Pendant Size: Approximately 2.25 inches wide × 1 inch tall
✧ Metal: Sterling silver
✧ Chain: Sterling silver diamond-link chain
✧ Length: Choose your length; includes a 2-inch extension chain for additional adjustability
✧ Closure: Sterling silver lobster claw clasp

One-of-a-kind and made with care in my studio.