Whale’s Tails

Beach Series No. 3

COLLECTED — Private Collection

Some stones seem to hold an entire landscape inside them.

The moment I saw this extraordinary Purple Chalcedony, I saw water, distant mountains and a horizon stretching toward the sea. Bands of violet, soft blue, cream and earthy brown had already created the beginning of the scene. My job was to listen to what the stone was telling me and continue its story in silver.

That story became Whale’s Tails — No. 3 in my Beach Series.

I handcrafted the pendant in sterling silver, building the world surrounding the stone rather than simply creating a setting for it. Three whale tails rise from the textured silver landscape, capturing that fleeting moment when whales disappear beneath the surface and leave only a glimpse behind.

Above them sits a softly glowing Moonstone, surrounded by radiating lines of textured silver. It became the light in the scene—the moon hanging over the water and completing the little world that began inside the Purple Chalcedony.

The Story Continues Into the Chain

For a piece like this, an ordinary chain wouldn't have felt complete.

I handcrafted a gemstone chain using Charoite, Amethyst, Azurite and Green Aventurine, choosing the stones to carry the colors and feeling of the pendant upward. The purples echo the Chalcedony, while the blues and greens bring in the colors of water and earth.

The chain isn't simply something that holds the pendant. It is part of the artwork.

That has become an important part of many of my larger statement pieces—allowing the story to continue beyond the focal stone and into every element of the finished design.

One Stone. One Story. One Original.

Whale’s Tails could never truly be recreated.

The landscape inside the Purple Chalcedony exists in this stone alone, and the silverwork was designed specifically around what I saw within it. Change the stone, and the entire story changes with it.

That's what I love most about creating one-of-a-kind wearable art. I don't begin with a design and search for a stone to fit it.

I begin with the stone and discover the story waiting inside.

Whale’s Tails has found its collector, but it remains an important part of my Collected Works and the continuing story of my Beach Series.

Product Details

Artist: Christine Keller
Title: Whale’s Tails
Series: Beach Series No. 3
Focal Stone: Purple Chalcedony
Accent Stone: Moonstone
Metal: Sterling Silver
Chain: Handcrafted gemstone chain
Chain Gemstones: Charoite, Amethyst, Azurite & Green Aventurine
Status: COLLECTED — Private Collection
One of a Kind: Original design; will not be reproduced
Handcrafted in West Virginia
Artist Signed