Topaz Eyes is the name of my latest mystery novel. You would think it should, then, be about topaz though that’s not the case. You need to read the book to understand the connections, but what actually feature a LOT are emeralds.
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In Topaz Eyes, there’s a
special and mysterious collection of antique jewels as the focus of an
inheritance quest. The whereabouts of the collection are unknown at the
beginning of the novel – apart from one piece which has recently come onto the
market and has caused a furore. My first instinct was to make it a diamond
collection, and I trawled internet jewellery shops to find really nice pieces
to spark my imagination. I quickly ditched the concept of diamonds when I saw
some beautiful jewellery featuring emeralds. One particular necklace did the
trick – my collection was going to be of original Indian design.
Green is my favourite colour; the contents of my wardrobe pretty good
proof of that. Real emeralds would look fabulous with some of my clothes so it
was no hardship to base my novel on the concept of bringing together a large
collection of antique emeralds. I can’t show the internet jewellery stores
items on this blog, but they were fantastic for giving me descriptive ideas. The
photographs of emeralds that I can share are all taken from Wikimedia
Commons, or from my favourite image site - www.123rf.com
.
This example from Wikimedia Commons is a wonderful example of the
richness of emeralds. The hue is fantastic, earthy, and yet simultaneously
ethereally dazzling.
Wikimedia Commons - This photo was taken by Robert Reisman- Emerald Unguentarium
I think gold really enhances the deep colour of emeralds, though silver can be equally effective. The ring in this picture has a surround of diamonds and has the most fantastic gold setting.
Wikimedia Commons - This photo was taken by Mark Somma - Description 18kt
yellow gold ring set with one pear shape emerald and 12 diamonds.
For an example of a silver, or white gold setting, this is another fabulous one. A lighter, more blue-green emerald is the centre piece. This one is named the “Chalk Emerald” - 37.8 carats, and is from Colombia.
The emerald is set within a cluster of 60 pear-shaped diamonds weighing a total
of approximately 15 carats. I imagine it must be pretty heavy on the finger!
Wikimedia commons.
The royal rulers of Baroda, a
state in India,
once owned the emerald set in a necklace. In the 20th century, the emerald was
reset in a ring designed by Harry Winston. It was donated to the National Gem and
Mineral Collection by Mr. and Mrs. O. Roy Chalk, and I believe it is now in the National
Museum of Natural History — Gem Gallery (U.S.).
Perhaps these examples will give an idea of why my invented
collection, originally belonging to an invented Mughal emperor I’ve called Tiru
Salana, is the focus of the family quest in Topaz Eyes.
Now... how are my main characters, Keira Drummond
and Teun Zeger, going to find the
twenty pieces of this fabulous collection?
How will they manage to survive desperate attempts to prevent this
from happening?
How is it eventually
mounted as a fantastic exhibition?
And what is the mystery item they do not
expect to find but which turns out to have the largest value of all?
Get yourself a copy of Topaz
Eyes to find out!
Slainthe!
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'My Book Promotions and Reviews' will give access to the Blurb for Topaz Eyes
'Topaz Eyes Excerpt' features a new excerpt.
Topaz Eyes
Book
trailer Youtube video for Topaz Eyes
Other
books by Nancy
Jardine http://amzn.to/wwaGCv
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