Polished silver spirals and round blue opals take turns along the whole length of this necklace, and there is no plain chain anywhere in it. Every other link is a flat spiral of sterling silver, and between each pair of spirals a round opal sits in a smooth bezel. Short double hinges join each link to the next, so the opal chain bends easily and lies flat on the skin. Spiral jewelry usually puts the curl into a single pendant. Here it repeats link after link, and that rhythm of metal and stone is what makes this a unique opal necklace.

Every stone in this lab-created opal necklace was grown, not mined. Lab-created opal is widely used in opal jewelry and is made to show the play of color opal is known for. In these stones it appears as flecks of green and pale blue over a deep blue ground. It is a synthetic opal, and it is not opalite, the milky man-made glass sold under a similar name, which has a soft sheen but no play of color. All the opals are round and the same size, with none graduated toward the front, and the blue stays even from stone to stone.

This 925 sterling silver necklace is cast and finished by hand in our workshop and then plated with rhodium. Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver, so under the plating it is a real silver necklace, and the rhodium gives the metal its bright white polish and helps it resist tarnish. Each bezel is a closed cup with a smooth rim, which keeps the opals low and protects their edges. The whole piece weighs 26.8 grams, most of it silver, because the opals are small flat stones set into the links.

In this bezel set opal necklace a stone comes back at every second link, so it works like an opal station necklace, with the stations running in one unbroken line instead of spaced along a thin chain. On the model this silver chain necklace rests just below the collarbone and follows the neckline in an even curve. The spirals are plain and undecorated, so it looks modern over a simple top or inside an open collar. With no pendant or center stone, the pattern looks the same wherever the necklace turns, and it can be worn alone or next to a fine silver chain.