The Sanctuary Within

I wanted to create an egg that feels as though it holds a world of its own—something precious on the outside, with a more intimate discovery waiting within.

My starting point was seven gemstones, chosen for their unusual beauty, the scarcity of fine examples, and the different ways they respond to light. Their rarity drew me in, but their individual character gave the work its direction.

Black opal provides the mystery. Its play of colour inspired the deep blue, violet and turquoise passages moving across the shell, like light briefly surfacing from darkness. Alexandrite brings the idea of transformation: its natural change of colour under different lighting became a way for me to think about a work that reveals another character when opened.

Paraíba tourmaline contributes its extraordinary copper-bearing blue-green intensity—a bright turquoise presence against the darker fields. Grandidierite offers a quieter balance, drawing on its blue-green colour and the different hues it can show from different directions. Benitoite, a rare gem closely associated with California, adds a sharper blue brilliance and the inspiration of its dispersive fire. Jeremejevite brings pale blue and near-colourless accents, giving the richer colours room to breathe. Sphene completes the palette with the rainbow flashes of its strong dispersion, interpreted here as small moments of warmth and fire.

Opening the shell sideways reveals a winged ankh, rendered with the rich yellow warmth of 22-karat gold. I worked with polished feather edges, softer engraved recesses and delicate settings so that the wings feel carefully sculpted. For me, the ankh holds the idea of life sheltered within something enduring; the wings give that thought a feeling of protection and freedom.

A galaxy appears through the open loop, held within a faceted crystal, while smaller crystals gather around the foot. The surrounding lining imagines the seven gemstones ground extraordinarily fine and blended into a smooth nebula of colour. This is a digital interpretation of their beauty, rather than a claim that powdered stones would retain every optical effect of an intact gem.

I want the first encounter to be with colour and craftsmanship. Then, as the eye moves inward, I hope something quieter emerges: the feeling of discovering a place where life, imagination and light have been carefully held.