Windows of the Sun

This sterling silver brooch features a skeletal quartz crystal paired with a vintage Peruvian silver pin. I found the pin at a vintage market, broken, and adapted it to integrate it into this piece.

The skeletal quartz, with its layered inner chambers and hollowed structures, symbolises transformation and hidden light. The skeletal formation creates a layered, lattice-like structure that looks almost like ribs or a framework. These features often form due to interruptions in the crystal’s growth, usually from changes in temperature, pressure, or mineral-rich solutions during its formation. The result is a crystal filled with intricate patterns, internal “windows,” and sometimes even fluid or gas inclusions. (Windows that are really wonderful to get loose in.)

I think the sterling silver pin may be representative of Naymlap, the legendary God-King of the ancient Sicán (Lambayeque) culture, a civilization that predated the Inca in northern Peru. According to myth, Naymlap arrived from across the sea with a great fleet, establishing a dynasty that ruled for centuries. But as I said I bought it at a stall and  my knowledge about this is thin. Just riffin’ of a little intuition and the one book I have on South American Deities. 

I think this would look great on a jacket or a hat or even a shirt collar. 

Weight: 18 g

Width: 4.3 cm

Length: 7 cm