Fordite Crown Pendant Necklace, Rare Detroit Agate, Art Deco Crown
This one of a kind vintage Fordite stone comes from the Hazelwood, Missouri plant. It is prong-set and soldered in sterling silver onto a wire base, which is soldered to a bronze crown that I hand-cast from a vintage Art Deco charm. It hangs from an 18" sterling silver cable chain with a secure sterling lobster clasp. The Fordite stone's colors and striped pattern are beautiful and unique, with hues of black, silver, red, gold, and white, and the pattern flows into the bronze crown. Completely handmade in my Chicago studio and one of a kind; this is a stunning pendant.
Fordite, also known as Detroit agate, is old automobile paint which has hardened sufficiently to be cut and polished. It was formed from the built up of layers of enamel paint slag on tracks and skids on which cars were hand spray-painted (a now automated process), which have been baked numerous times. As the story goes, some crafty workers with an eye for beauty realized that this unique byproduct was worth salvaging. It was super-cured, patterned like psychedelic agate, and could be cut and polished like stone. Sadly, the techniques that produced it years ago are no longer in common use. Cars are now painted by way of an electrostatic process that essentially magnetizes the enamels to the car bodies. This leaves little overspray. The old factory methods that created a bounty of this incredible material are long gone.
Pendant measures 7/8" at widest point, and 1 5/8" high. Total length of necklace is 19" long, but can be shortened upon purchase.