Aughnacliffe Dolmen Pendant

November 06, 2020

Benny came to me with an idea for a pendant. He wanted to surprise his wife of almost fifty years with a pendant shaped like the ancient Dolmen in Aughnacliffe, that they both loved and lived close to, for their 50th Wedding Anniversary.

The Aughnacliffe Dolmen in Co. Longford

I was hooked... I didn't realise that his timeline was so tight though—he came to me mid-July, and their anniversary was mid-August. I thought we were still in June! So by the time I visited the Dolmen and took photos, I had about two weeks left. The pressure was on...

Time to start work! I got 1.6mm sheet silver and drew the image onto it. Then with a fine jewellery saw, I cut the Dolmen shape from the silver, leaving some grass at the base. And then I started to carve in the details, with little hand engravers (like chisels).

Time to start working on the Aughnacliffe Dolmen pendant in my jewellery studio in Cavan.

Work begins on the Dolmen pendant

Out of 14ct 0.5mm sheet, I cut out the grass shape to lay over the silver at the base of the Dolmen. I used a small pic for the shape and size, but I always need a big pic to see all the details. It's the only way to be really accurate.

You can see from the picture above (the first image after soldering on the grass!) how the colour of the metals change. It’s hard to see the carving so well now, but it will all come up fine when I polish it at the end.

A closer look at the depth and soldering in the Aughnacliffe Dolmen Pendant:

A close look at the depth and soldering of the unique dolmen pendant by Irish Designer Elena Brennan.

Close-up of depth and soldering

Now it's time for polishing up and a wee bit of blackening to bring up the details. I love the blues that come out sometimes with patinating (blackening with ammonium sulphate). You can really see the carving on this piece—on my hand, you can tell it’s a big and weighty piece!

All polished and blackened up, the bespoke dolmen pendant is quite big and weighty.

Polished and blackened finish

The customer wanted stud earrings to match, so I created some stones with a clump of grass.

Matching stud earrings

The spiral means a lot to the end wearer, so I did a bit of research on the meanings behind different spirals.

Researching and incorporating spirals into the handmade dolmen pendant as it held special meaning.

Researching spiral symbols

I decided to go with the Luna Goddess spiral.

Luna Goddess spiral and Ogham

The Dolmen Pendant complete with matching stud earrings:

The Dolmen Pendant is complete with matching stud earrings.

The finished Dolmen jewellery set

Back of the Dolmen, with the Luna Goddess spiral and the end wearer’s name in Ogham. The Ogham reads from bottom to top and says “Catherine”.

Ogham writing on pendant saying "Catherine" to add a personal touch to the pendant.

Back of the pendant with Ogham: "Catherine"

Benny was so delighted that he was almost speechless when he saw the finished pieces.

The finished jewellery set of the Dolmen Pendant and Earring handmade by Irish Jewellery Designer Elena Brennan.

Final presentation of the jewellery

Upon receiving her present, Catherine sent this message to me:

"Hi Elena, I just want to tell you how much I admire and love the work you did on my beautiful Dolman pieces. I shall treasure their uniqueness and wear them proudly.
Benny had agreed I thought (??) to my suggestion that we have a low-key Anniversary in these Covid circumstances and definitely no presents.
I felt like Scrooge on Saturday morning I can tell you.
God bless your talents to make beautiful art."