CZs are very, very shiny. They are far brighter and more sparkly than most gems and so it is only natural that someone got the idea of making them even more splendid! and also, giving them silly names!

So, "Jealous Love" was the name they picked for the coated CZ that added emerald green and magenta flashes to the usual CZ gleams. I could not resist putting one into a cracked and breaking heart. please understand that in real life the CZ is far brighter and more sparkly than it appears here!

The rest of the design was an exercise in showinghow various techniques I was teaching could work together. The heart is textured, then domed in a hydraulic press using urethane and a heart-shaped form. I cut the cracks into it, then soldered it to a flat back that holds the pin findings; after soldering the two together, I added small cracks in the back that met up with the front ones. The CZ is tube set into a tube set into the heart. The piece was patinated, then most of the patina removed from the outside, leaving the inside dark and setting off the texture.

Sterling silver, "Jealous Love" CZ.

1.375 x 1.375 inches (33 x 33 mm)

2002. NFS.