With the holidays right around the corner, it's the perfect time to shed a little light on some of our favorite *New Releases* to hit the collection. Each jewelry item is handcrafted, one-of-a-kind, and tells a unique story. Read below for a behind the scenes peak at one of the latest additions to the collection.
Here is the behind the scenes scoop on the Azores Opal Drop Earrings
Azores Collection
Each jewelry collection is inspired by beautiful landscapes. I attempt to capture the feeling and attributes of a place and reinterpret the experiences from travel in gold and gemstones.
The Azores Blue Opal Drop Earrings are one-of-a-kind and inspired by the Azores, a Portuguese volcanic island chain located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The steep drop on the sides of the volcanic islands and lack of continental shelf mean large marine mammals that migrate by the islands come very close to the shore, making whale watching an easy adventure. But the beautiful natural life doesn't stop at the shoreline!
The landscape of the Azores is lush due to the rich volcanic soil. Hydrangeas grow wild along the mountainsides and the only tea plantation in Europe is located on the island. Dense forests, wild flowers, and rolling fields cover the hillsides. At the peaks of the volcanoes you can find sulfur baths and crater lakes in mineral-rich hues of blues and greens.
These earrings are subtle, elegant, and evocative of a magical place.
The gold of the earrings takes on the stepped texture of the Azorean landscape. Set in 18k Recycled Yellow Gold, the earring forms are just as unique as the opals themselves.
To capture the dramatic skies and views across the Atlantic in every direction, the ethereal wildness of the islands is evoked through the drama, richness, and vibrance of Opal. The opals are natural, custom cut, and have a mesmerizing vibrant hue.
Opal
The characteristic that sets opal apart from any other gemstone is its exotic play-of-color, a phenomenon that causes light to break into rainbow colors in a variety of patterns when moved. Opal is made of tiny silica spheres that are arranged randomly, like oranges in a basket, and are compressed by the heavy desert land under which opals form. As light bounces off of these obscured curved surfaces, the colors appear in a variety of patterns, flashing across the surface.
Rather than reflected a range of hues, these opals feature a remarkably saturated royal blue shade that shimmers when rocked. By maintaining a single hue across their surface, these opals possess a subtly that is often missed by opals more commonly known for their disco ball flashes of color.
When it comes to Original Eve's jewelry designs, there is always more than meets the eye. If you have questions about any of the forms, crafting processes, gemstones, or other materials used in the items you see, please feel free to reach out: eve@originaleve.com
