An Open Heart

What a delightful surprise to take a closer look at this mother-of-pearl heart (that we assumed to be a pendant) at a recent antique show to discover that it's actually a hinged box with a carved door that opens to reveal a collection of tiny costume seed pearls inside. True to our original assumption (vision) we turned the box into a pendant and added a strand of simple-yet-stunning hand-wrought brass beads from Mali. A silvered copper and pearl clasp completes the look at back, and the necklace measures 19.5" in overall length.