Bronze Gotland lens necklace with green aventurine and rock crystal

Gotland lens necklace based on Viking Age findings from Hejslunds (with similar findings in Lilla Rone and Fröjel) in Gotland. It is made out of five green aventurine lenses fitted in bronze with clear rock crystal beads and bronze beads. The diameter of the biggest lens is ca 32mm (incl fitting), and the smallest is smallest lens ca 22mm.

Length: 46 cm

History

The original Viking age findings that inspired this piece were found on Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea, off the east coast of Sweden.

On the island there has been found at least thirty lenses and spheres made of rock crystal (clear quartz), as well as pieces of raw quartz indicating a possibility of local production. Quartz is a very hard material that requires a lot of effort to cut, which would have been accomplished using a turning lathe.

The necklace found in Hejslunds consists of seven quartz lenses. One big center piece framed by gradually smaller ones on each side, plus seventeen silver beads with similar filigree and granulation work.

The piece found in Lilla Rone has a similar setup but consists of eleven different sized lenses and ten silver beads.

The so-called “Visby lenses” were actually mostly found in the smaller harbor city Fröjel. The graves they were found in are dating between 11-12th century.

There are theories that the lenses have been high status symbols, or possibly tools for magnifying, star gazing, wound cauterizing or fire making. Whatever they were used for, their magnification rates were surprisingly good - even with today’s standards. An impressive piece of history.

Healing

Green aventurin is a type of quartz mineral with inclusions of fuchsite. It’s a stone of luck and happiness. Rock crystal, also known as clear quartz, stands for healing and energy.