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Described in The Witching Hour as a Brazilian emerald set in gold filigree,
the Mayfair emerald necklace has been in the Mayfair family since the mid 17th century. Many of us have created images, graphics,
of what such a necklace might have looked like. The Witching Hour also described the pendant as rectangular. Its
size?
Page 99 of The Witching Hour has this description on it: "...an emerald as big as a thumbnail!"
(Left: Religious Jewelry set with emeralds, 17th/18th century)
But what would such a necklace look like if it was purchased in a store in
Amsterdam in the middle of the 17th century?
Well, a bit different than jewelers today would have designed it. As I finally managed to find some photographs of emerald
jewelry in gold settings from that time period, it was easy to see that people today might just write it off as fake if they
didn't know better.
(Right: Religious Jewelry auctioned at Christie's, 17th/18th Century CE)
The gold settings look as if the gemstone was embedded in it. Today, prongs
hold gemstones--cut and polished gemstones--in place. That didn't mean ornamentation wasn't added on in crafting settings
for gemstones. As for the gemstones themselves, emeralds looked more tumbled and polished, but not cut. Those unfamiliar
with emeralds might not recognize them in jewelry of the 17th century, even mistakenly believe the stone is fake.
I wanted to first correct the emerald and its setting to the rectangular shape described. Also, I wanted to try to create
a gold filigree setting that was more like the time period in which Deborah Mayfair acquired it. Right away, The Witching
Hour described the emerald as Brazilian. South America is indeed known for emerald mines. And, just for funsies, emeralds
were among the favorite gemstones of Cleopatra VII.
Lucky thing, because Egypt also had emerald mines.
(Above Left: Jewelry and Settings, Alexandria, Egypt 5th Century CE)
 Double
Head Emerald Cameo Habille Created on NightCafe by
The Mayfair Witches Parlor
But why do Brazilian emeralds look the way they do?
Most people today are used to seeing synthetic emeralds.
They are cut with well-defined edges. The deep green color makes it one of the less translucent stones. This all looks
a bit different when the emerald came straight from a natural resource for them: a mine.
(Right: Various cuts of emerald gemstones)
 Emerald
Cameo Habille Created on NightCafe by
The Mayfair Witches Parlor
Instead of simply deep in color, emeralds like that appear quite murky. It's
a bit like looking at a deep, deep green marble. What's in there are tiny little veins that contain oils. These oils actually
help the stone to stay intact. If you were to use a detergent type jewelry cleaner on these emeralds, especially if it's done
frequently, that oil can dry up and make the emerald brittle.
(Left: Brazilian Emerald)
One can imagine that such a gemstone making its way to Amsterdam was something
incredibly unique. And very expensive. Somehow, Deborah acquired this beautiful piece of jewelry. By "somehow", I mean
Lasher helped her. Naturally, she showed her appreciation for this by having his name engraved in the gold setting. I've
added an approximation below, although this is subject to change if I ever find out how this would have ended up appearing
if this had been a real piece of jewelry.
(Right: Created on NightCafe, this AI image of the Mayfair Emerald is based upon Anne Rice's description of it in The
Witching Hour, but the generator does produce this result based upon its own creative contribution and how it interprets
the prompts)
"The name of my devil is carved on the back of the gold fitting" ~Deborah Mayfair,
WH pg. 306
More about the symbolism of the Mayfair emerald as a key to a doorway on this
page of the Parlor:
The Doorway and the Thirteen
Back to
Thirteen Witches...
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