Size 8 3/4 on a 8mm Hammered Sterling Silver Band
This stone is a record of deep time. The elongated oval Painted Caldera cabochon measures 43mm x 18mm a long, narrow window into millions of years of volcanic and sedimentary history, its surface banded in sweeping horizontal layers of amber, ochre, gold, and warm brown. Dark dendrite inclusions trace through the stone like ancient script, like the shadow of roots pressing through rock, like something written before there were words for it.
Set in oxidized .925 sterling silver with a hand-twisted rope border and triple ball terminals flanking each side, the bezel honors the stone’s elongated elegance without interrupting its geology. Below it, an 8mm hammered sterling silver band grounds the piece with quiet, hand-worked texture its faceted surface a modern echo of the ancient material above it. This ring sits long and commanding on the finger, worn best by someone who appreciates what took a long time to become beautiful.
Details:
Stone: Painted Caldera · Origin: · Matrix: Brown, Tan & Gold · Metal: Custom Sterling Silver · Ring Size: 8 3/4 · Stone Setting: 43mm × 18mm Square· Band Width: 8mm · One of a Kind
Made in Taos by a Taosena.
Some Jewelry is made. Some is found. At Fire & Stone, it's both.
Caldera Gold - Painted Caldera Jasper
Painted Caldera is a sedimentary picture stone found in the volcanic caldera country of the American West formed in ancient lake beds and ash deposits where mineral-rich silica slowly replaced organic material over millions of years. What results is a stone that reads like landscape painting horizontal bands of color laid down by time, pressure, and the slow chemistry of the earth.
The warm amber and gold palette of this particular stone reflects high iron oxide content in its host environment, while the dark dendrite inclusions feathery, fractal patterns of manganese oxide formed as mineral-rich water moved through microscopic cracks in the hardening silica. Every band, every dendrite, every shift of color is a geological event. This cabochon holds more history than most museums
