This almost alien Adriatic Crab Carapace Amulet is lost wax cast in solid sterling silver. It is 2-1/2" long and 2" across. It is a life casting of a bony crab carapace that John found free diving on a 2016 trip to Croatia. A carapace is a decorative bony or chitinous shield that protects the back and tender underparts of arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids. Turtles and tortoises also have carapaces.
The backstory of this piece begins first with this juvenile crab that fortunately lived and died in the shallow, grassy and sandy Adriatic sea bottom off the coast of Split Croatia. In the summer of 2016, my son John and I took a touristy all day trip from Split to visit 5 nearby islands. As the other passengers, sunbathed on the deck of our small boat, John dove into the water to explore what was below. John can hold his breath for some time and he ventured into the undulating sea grass along the sandy bottom and surfaced with this treasure. As we motor back to port, we discuss jewelry design possibilities for his crab carapace.
What exactly is a “Life Casting” you ask? It is when you take a form from nature and are able to reproduce it in metal by various methods of molding and burning out of the wax or the natural specimen. There were many technical challenges in the instance of this fragile and detailed crab carapace. One has just one chance to do it correctly before the specimen is destroyed or damaged irreparably.
*Life castings capture the beauty of nature and are an alternative to wearing a real shell which contributes to the demand of commercial shell harvesting and ultimately damages our world's reef and ocean habitats.
All Marty Magic Jewelry is packaged in a beautiful purple box, embossed with the gold foil Marty Magic dragon logo. Perfect for any occasion!
Designed in Santa Cruz, a collaboration between John Bobroskie and Marty Magic
Made in the U.S.A.
