Plique-A-Jour Wave Pendant

A wave rendered in stained glass.

A plique-à-jour pendant shaped like a single cresting wave — fine silver wires holding panes of translucent vitreous enamel with no metal backing, so light passes straight through the blues and aquas like a miniature stained-glass window. At 22 × 20mm (27mm including the bail), it's the right size to wear every day and precious enough that you notice it on. Inspired by the endless beaches and relentless surf of the Australian coast.

Plique-à-jour translates literally as "flash of daylight" — an old French term for the technique where light is part of the jewellery, shining through the enamel rather than bouncing off it. A piece for ocean people who want the sea as a keepsake, not a motif.

Handmade by Natalia on the Central Coast of Australia. Plique-à-jour is the rarest and most technically demanding of the enamel techniques. Fine silver wires are soldered into the wave-cell pattern, then the enamel is fired in the open cells with no backing — each pane has to suspend itself in the setting as it cools. Most pieces fail at some stage; only the perfect firings survive. Each piece passes through the kiln multiple times to reach the final depth of colour.

— Custom-made to order over about four weeks so it reaches you fresh from Natalia's bench.

• Materials: 999 fine silver, vitreous enamel (plique-à-jour)
• Pendant size: 22 × 20mm (0.87 × 0.79")
• Full length including bail: 27mm (1.06")
• Technique: Plique-à-jour vitreous enamel — light passes through like stained glass
• Custom order: Made to order, allow up to 4 weeks
• Includes: NJewellery signature pouch
• Handmade in Australia
• Chain sold separately