Ali Baba

This loop pendant features a lovely centerpiece of a square shaped cloisonne bead with amber, blue and green accents which is surrounded by green glass pearls, blue Miracle beads which have a really neat reflective quality, matte blue glass rounds, amber glass and little golden accents.

Cloisonne is an enameling technique in which thin wire partitions (called, cloisons) are filled with enamel. This technique is very old, and was practiced in ancient Byzantium and China. First, delicate strips of copper wire are bent to create a design, then are placed and soldered onto the bead's surface. Next, the spaces are filled with different colored enamels. Finally, the bead is fired and polished several times to produce the desired effect.

(Japanese miracle beads have a lucite core with silver mirror plate finish and are coated with several layers of colored lacquer. The "miraculous" effect is the result of light passing through the lacquer, reflecting the mirror core and back through the layers resulting in an illusion of depth.)

The loop is double-strung with strong nylon coated wire and hanging from a satin cord which closes with a lobster-claw clasp that has a teeny starfish charm accent.