p e n e l o p e
Penelope was the clever wife of Odysseus who created schemes to avoid
appeasing the suitors crowding her home and demanding her hand in marriage. First,
she told them she must weave a fine funeral shroud for Odysseus's father. She wove all
day then undid much of the work during the night and continued this for years until
betrayed by a handmaiden and caught in the act. Next, she pretended to consider their
courtship and arranged contests to test their strength and fitness as husbands. When
confronted with her beloved husband after twenty years absence, she could not believe it
without a test of her own: she asks her maid to move her bed which she knows cannot
be moved since one of the bedposts is a living olive tree. Odysseus responds with disbelief,
has she destroyed the bed he had built?! She knows then it is Odysseus and not a cruel
trick and so ends their long suffering. The brilliant blue stone in the pendant is topaz,
whose name comes from Sanskrit for "fire". Topaz is a hard, typically colorless
stone that has been mistaken for diamond. Most colored topaz has been treated in some
fashion to enhance the color. Yellow Brazilian topaz becomes pink when heated and colorless
topaz turns into deep shades of blue with irradiation, such as the blue topaz featured here.
Topaz has been long used to fight depression and ward off the evil eye, and certainly
these qualities would have been useful to Penelope! Plus, the cut and style are both simple
and beautiful - also speaking to Penelope's beauty and practical nature. The pendant is
paired with a lightweight sterling silver curb chain.
Cost: $61.00 USD
Cost of gift shipment (domestic shipping only): $5.95 USD
m a k e i t a g i f t
s h i p m e n t :
Looking to ship this item separately as a gift? Gift shipment includes gift boxing and an occasion specific
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jewelry item name, the recipient name and address, and occasion and this item will be
sent to the recipient with a card and note. See the gift box section
for samples of shipments with different occasion specific cards. Cost of gift shipment (domestic shipping only): $5.95 USD
c a t e g o r i e s :
- Color: blue
- Material: challengers
- Type: necklace - mid
- Geek Chic: literary allusions
- Cool Finds: cool stones
- Something Special: iconic pieces