Octagonal Long Carnelian Silver Earrings. Cornelian (or Carnelian), has throughout history always been appreciated, for its warmth of colour and its relative durability. Carnelian has the hardness, or toughness, of Quartz, to which it is closely related, namely 7 or close to, and 7 is the hardness benchmark, in that gemstones harder are considered seriously tough, and those less hard more easily damaged.
In general harder gemstones are more rare and more costly.
The use of Carnelian in decorative arts can be traced back seven thousand years and more, to the Neolithic period. The carnelian in the above earrings, though mined and cut only a decade or so ago, are of a long octagonal cut, slightly tapered at one end, that is of itself truly an ancient cut.
In ages past, when the contents of documents were kept private by tying and sealing the tie with wax, an inscribed stamp upon the hot wax would indicate the origin of the document, and Cornelian was a favourite seal stamp material, not only for its intrinsic attractiveness, but because hot wax tended not to stick to the surface of the gemstone, allowing for crispness in the imprint of the inscription.