Two Necklaces

Here are the first two necklaces I want to post, but I am having a heck of a time trying to get decent photos. I really need lights and tripod and the whole shebang. Anyway, the top piece is copper with a leather cord. I think the large stone is an agate. The back of the piece is cut out and you can see through the agate. The blue dot is a glaze stone, a happy accident from a glaze firing.

The piece below is a fire agate we found near here. It's quite colorful in sunlight. This is a small piece set in flame-aged copper on a clear rubber cord. Fire agate is a natural gemstone found in just a few places in the southwest, this area being one. The agates formed during the volcanic activity of the Tertiary Period. (Is there any doubt this area was formed by volcanic activity?!) The iridescent rainbow colors of fire agate, similar to opal, are caused by alternating silica and iron oxide layers interfering with the light as it passes through the gem. Really pretty.