This lovely pendant was hand cut and a large gemstone of 11 2/3 carats. The simple bezel is handmade of 15kt yellow gold. This pendant is Circa 1850 and pre-Civil War from Boston, Massachusetts. It was worn on a ribbon at that time and looks very elegant on a ribbon today but also comes with a new gold chain. This is a rare and desired color of the softer Champagne color of Quartz.

Interesting fact and history on Smoky Quartz: Pliny wrote nearly 2000 years ago that quartz crystals formed from ice exposed to intense cold for long periods of time in dark clefts and caverns in the mountains. This general belief was popular in diverse cultures until the eighteenth century, when modern geology began to develop in Europe.

Smoky quartz has been used as gemstones and other ornamental and religious objects for thousands of years. The very dark brown to black smoky quartz is sometimes called morion. Faceted brown smoky quartz has been called smoky topaz, and also is known as cairngorm, named after an old locality in the Cairngorm Mountains in the Scottish highlands.

The size is 1 1/4 inches long and 3/4 inches wide. This gemstone is in excellent condition without chips or scratches, treasured all these many years and well kept.