Marcasite Sterling Jewellery

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:57:00 GMT

Deep and lustrous, marcasite has been celebrated as a fascinating gemstone throughout human history. Up until the modern era, the word marcasite was used to refer to iron sulfide minerals in general, and while the modern scientific use of the word now applies to only one polymorph of iron pyrite, the traditional use of the term continues in the world of jewellery, where marcasite is today used to refer to small polished and faceted stones of pyrite inlaid in sterling silver, such as those in our current collection of sterling jewellery.

The ancient Greeks, the Romans and the Incas all made use of marcasite in their jewellery, and attributed strengthening and invigorating properties to this beautiful material. Meditating upon pyrite has long been said to remedy intellectual and nervous fatigue, and to provide a boost to one's vitality and mental clarity, even to the point of sparking creativity and aiding communication between the conscious and unconscious mind. The ancient Greeks were the ones to name pyrite after the word 'pyr', meaning fire, because of its ability to form sparks when struck against flint or steel. Many ancient civilisations saw fit to use polished pyrite slabs for scrying based on these energising and clarifying properties, including the Mayans and the Aztecs. The ancient Chinese are said to have believed that pyrite could guard against crocodile attacks; I'd guess that would depend on the weight and heft of each particular stone.

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Marcasite Sterling Jewellery