Heng Ngai Sterling Silver 14K Gold Plated Amethyst Blue Topaz Garnet Pendant

Heng Ngai sterling silver pendant with a 14K gold plated openwork medallion set with eight natural gemstones, marked 925 with the HN oval on the bail. The pendant is built as a field of overlapping circles and ovals worked in beaded gold plated wire, each ring holding a bezel set stone at its center, the whole thing floating inside a plain polished sterling outer hoop. An oval blue topaz sits at the center, with an oval amethyst above it, an oval garnet and an oval citrine flanking, and four smaller round stones, two peridot and two amethyst, filling the gaps between the larger rings.

The construction is what carries this. The gold plated wire is textured with a fine beaded line along its length rather than left smooth, so the rings catch light as a series of tiny points instead of a single flat reflection, and setting them against the untouched white sterling of the outer hoop puts a hard warm and cool break at the edge of the design. The stones are chosen to work as a spread rather than a match, deep violet amethyst against warm honey citrine, cool blue topaz against red garnet, with the two small peridot landing as the sharpest green note. Because the rings overlap rather than sit in a ring, the eye reads the piece as a cluster in motion and finds a different stone depending on how the light falls.

The bail is generous and takes anything from a fine cable chain to a heavier link. A longer chain drops the medallion to the sternum where the openwork reads at full width.

Verifications:
14K gold has been verified using an Auracle Gold Analyzer.
Sterling silver has been verified using JSP Silver Testing Solution.
Amethyst, peridot, citrine, blue topaz and garnet have been verified using a Presidium Gem Tester II.

Details:
Designer: Heng Ngai
Metal: Sterling Silver
Accent Metal: 14K Gold Plated
Hallmarks: 925, HN in an Oval
Stones: Amethyst, Peridot, Citrine, Blue Topaz, Garnet
Stone Count: 8
Stone Breakdown: Amethyst (3), Peridot (2), Citrine (1), Blue Topaz (1), Garnet (1)
Stone Cut: Oval and Round Faceted
Setting: Bezel
Design: Openwork Overlapping Circles
Type: Pendant
Chain: Not included
Condition: Excellent estate condition

Fun Facts:
Heng Ngai Jewelry was substantial enough in the American market to take the United States government to court, litigating a customs classification dispute in the Court of International Trade in 2004, which is not a fight a small workshop picks.
The citrine and the amethysts in this piece are the same mineral. Both are quartz colored by iron, and the difference between violet and honey comes down to the iron's oxidation state, which is why heating amethyst turns it citrine and why a crystal that holds both zones at once has its own trade name, ametrine.