Temple of Heaven Girandole earrings in silver. The Emperor of China was regarded as the son of Heaven, responsible to the celestial power for success or failure of his government. The Ming Dynasty built the Temple of Heaven in about 1420 and it was the detail of circles and squares that decorate the roof edge of the temple that inspired these earrings. From the Journey to China.
Each earring measures approximately 47mm in length.
Temple of Heaven
"Of all Peking's enchanting sights, the beauty of the Altar of Heaven is the hardest to describe. It's sublime austerity is mocked by words. It is what it is - the most fitting architectural expression of man's highest aspirations in the world" - John Blofeld: City of Lingering Splendour, 1961
'I have always found this quote the best description of the magical building that is The Temple of Heaven. The geometric patterns on the ends of the roof tiles led me to sketch out the idea of the Temple of Heaven earrings. It was important that each section should move, so the little links needed to be strong, yet discreet.
It takes a brave jewellery designer not to fill every part of a design with stone or gold. To leave 'air space', as we call it in the workshop, is when a design is good enough, bold enough, strong enough, that you can start to take away the gold and leave space. In this design: space is the luxury.
Craftmanship and sourcing
Handmade In London
All Cassandra Goad Jewellery is designed and made in our workshops in London.
Gemmologist
Ever in search of the unusual and rare, Cassandra travels the world to source beautiful gemstones, either in the rough or cut form.
Crafted to perfection
The craftsman works as an artist recreating the design in metal. The jewel is then mounted, assayed, polished and set.
