Colourful Phosphosiderite Pendant
Phosphosiderite is a form of iron phosphate. Most of this mineral comes from Chile.
Although used for decorative purposes phosphosiderite is not seen that often in jewellery. This is because being soft and brittle it's not an easy stone to work with.
This colourful cabochon has been mounted in a handmade sterling silver setting.
This phosphosiderite pendant has been slightly reduced because of a minor firescale mark. It can just about be seen in our second photo.
Firescale marks can appear when some metals are heated at very high temperatures. It's caused by an interaction between the silver and oxygen and is more difficult to avoid in handcrafted jewellery.
When the silver is well polished the firescale mark is almost unnoticeable. As it begins to tarnish it becomes more visible.