C. Wylle Sonoran Mountain Turquoise Triple Teardrop Pendant in Sterling Silver

One stone is a decision. Three is a negotiation.

A single cabochon only has to be good on its own. Three stacked down your chest have to agree with each other, and that is a much narrower target. They have to come from material close enough to belong together and be different enough to be worth stacking. Get it wrong and it reads like leftovers.

This one gets it right. The top stone is the lightest, sage green washing into pale blue where the vein changed. The middle is bright, almost lime, with soft brown flecks. The bottom is the deepest, a saturated green with dark matrix drifting through it. Your eye travels down the piece instead of stopping at the first stone.

Each teardrop sits in its own bezel wrapped in twisted silver rope, hinged so the three sections swing independently. It moves when you move.

It is 2 1/2 inches of stone and silver, 3 inches with the bail. This is not a quiet piece. Wear it against something plain and let it do the work.

Stamped on the back: C. Wylle, sterling, and a Zia, the sun symbol that flies on the New Mexico flag.

The details

• Stone: Sonoran Mountain turquoise, three graduated teardrops
• Color: natural greens, sage through deep, with brown matrix
• Metal: sterling silver, twisted rope bezels, hinged sections
• Hallmark: C. Wylle, sterling, with a Zia
• Length: 2 1/2 inches without the bail, 3 inches including it
• Chain: not included, hangs on your own
• One of a kind: yes, a single piece

Sonoran Mountain is known for how many greens one mine can hold. This is the piece that shows you the range in a single design.