Description
A rainbow obsidian drop, polished into a dome, whose iridescence gathers into a deep green eye at the centre of the stone. It is not a reflection that travels across: it is a patch of colour that stays where it was put.
The difference from the catalogue’s faceted rainbow obsidian lies entirely in the shape. On a faceted stone, light bounces off multiple planes and the colour fragments into scattered glints. On a dome, it follows a continuous curve and the iridescence concentrates into a single circular zone, an eye. The same stone gives two opposite effects depending on whether you cut it in planes or in a curve. Both are here.
The eye is green and not blue, and that comes down to the thickness of the magnetite layers in this particular block. Thinner layers give blue, thicker ones green and then bronze. It is not a workshop choice, it is a given of the block, and it means two drops from the same batch do not have exactly the same hue. I select on green, but I cannot guarantee a green identical to the photograph. The obsidian varieties go into that mechanism.
The reservation is the one every rainbow obsidian carries: it needs direct light and an angle. Under a diffuse ceiling light the drop is black. This one fares better than the others, because a dome always finds a favorable angle somewhere on its surface, but it remains a daylight stone. I say so every time and I say it again here.
Crystal lore makes rainbow obsidian a stone of harmony. None of that is proven, and no piece of jewellery heals anything. I have gathered separately what tradition attributes to obsidian, in the conditional from start to finish.
- Genuine rainbow obsidian, drop polished into a dome, centered green eye.
- The dome gathers the iridescence into a patch, where a faceted cut scatters it.
- The hue of the eye depends on the block: two drops are never identical.
- Silver bail, adjustable burgundy cord.
What to know before you wear it
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The specifications
- Stone
- Rainbow obsidian, volcanic glass with magnetite inclusions
- Shape
- Drop polished into a dome
- Dimensions
- About 30 x 22 mm / 1 1/4 x 7/8 in
- Setting
- Silver bail glued to the back
- Cord
- Braided burgundy cord, adjustable length
- Gender
- Unisex
- Brand
- Bijoux Obsidienne
Centering an eye, the only thing that counts on this stone
On a rainbow drop, everything is settled in the first roughing and nothing in the polishing. The eye is already in the block, at a given depth, and the cutter simply decides at what height to stop the curve: too high, the eye is small and shifted toward the tip; too low, it spreads and loses its crisp edge. There is no recovery, you cannot put material back. It is the only stone in the catalogue where the decision is taken in thirty seconds at the start and where the rest of the work can no longer change anything.
This drop exists because the catalogue’s faceted rainbow obsidian disappoints those who were after a frank patch of colour. Facets fragment, the dome gathers. They are two cuts for two expectations, and I would rather sell them separately than describe one as the other. Both are here.
The eye is already in the block. The cutter only chooses at what height to stop, and there is no going back.
Obsidian does not mind water, but the bail is glued to the back of the stone, and a glue likes neither hot water nor solvents. Take the pendant off before the shower. A soft cloth is enough, never an ultrasonic bath. Cleaning an obsidian piece covers the rest.
