Waking early, I went up to Monreale, the beautiful Norman cathedral on the hill above Palmero. As I stepped out onto the piazza, the cathedral stood triumphant. Before the doors opened, I walked up and down past the railings outside that were decorated with a series of circles with winged tips where the circles met. Imagining a flight of angels, my Volo d'Angelo was thought up. In my Volo d'Angelo jewels I set lapis lazuli, garnets and diamonds where the circles joined in necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

Malachite has a distinctive structure and green colour from the copper minerals within, typically comprising curved concentric banding that alternates between light and dark green shades. Often its fibrous structure is visible, with the long direction of fibres appearing perpendicular to the colour banding and giving the stone both a silky and dull lustre.