This week the blog goes rock-hunting with Gneiss Things, a studio in the Isle of Harris making Lewisian gneiss jewellery from the stone under everyone’s feet in the Outer Hebrides. There are 49 pieces in stock as I write, from £24 to £48, and no two of them are the same.
Lewisian gneiss is one of the oldest rocks in the world. It is the bedrock of the Hebrides and the stone the Callanish Standing Stones were raised from. Wearing a piece of it around your neck does make most family heirlooms look a bit recent.
The stones are gathered by hand in the island, and taken from areas of existing human disturbance so that ecosystems are left in peace. Every piece is then carved by hand, which is why the banding runs differently through each one. Seven picks below, across the stone types and the price range.
Lewisian Gneiss Keyrings – £26
Gneiss Things, Isle of Harris
The studio’s best seller, and a sensible way into the stone. Each one is individually carved, so the pattern through the rock varies from keyring to keyring, and each is finished with a hand-crafted copper ring and a metal keyring. They come in three sizes, small, medium and large. A good gift for anyone who has ever picked up a stone at a beach and quietly taken it home.
Lewisian Gneiss Heritage Pendant – £48
Gneiss Things, Isle of Harris
Hand carved from the rock of the Outer Hebrides and bound in the axehead, or toki, style, with the cord wrapped round the head of the stone. It is the most substantial piece in the range, and it carries itself accordingly. The cord fastening adjusts, so it sits where you want it to sit. Each carving is unique, which makes it an awkward thing to replace and a lovely thing to be given.
Pink Gneiss Heritage Pendant – £48
Gneiss Things, Isle of Harris
The same heritage binding, worked in pink gneiss. People are often surprised that Hebridean rock comes in pink at all, and this one settles the argument. Adjustable cord fastening, and unique like all the carvings. If you want island stone that does not read as grey, this is the one.
Hebridean Quartzite pendant – £40
Gneiss Things, Isle of Harris
Quartzite, pale and bright, hand carved from stone gathered in Harris and Lewis. It hangs on an adjustable cord and is a one-off, as everything here is. Quartzite catches the light in a way the darker stones do not bother with. An easy piece to wear with most things.
Greenstone pendant – £40
Gneiss Things, Isle of Harris
Greenstone is one of the quieter pleasures of Hebridean geology, and the studio carves a fair bit of it. This piece measures 5.4cm by 2.9cm, so it has presence without becoming a burden on a long day. Adjustable cord, hand carved, one of one. Green suits island light rather well.
Natural surface gneiss pendant – £38
Gneiss Things, Isle of Harris
The clue is in the name, this one keeps the stone’s own natural surface rather than having it worked away. It measures 4.7cm by 2.9cm and hangs on an adjustable cord. For anyone who likes a stone to still look like it came off a hillside. Which, of course, it did.
Garnetiferous pendant – £27
Gneiss Things, Isle of Harris
Garnetiferous means the rock carries garnets, and the name has stayed on the listing because nothing shorter would be honest. It is 4cm by 2.5cm and weighs 14g, on a black cord with a coil detail. At £27 it is the most affordable pendant in this selection. Hand carved from sustainably sourced Harris and Lewis stone, like the rest.
Hebridean Marble Keyrings – £26
Gneiss Things, Isle of Harris
Marble carved from the rock of the western Scottish islands, built the same way as the gneiss keyrings, with a hand-crafted copper ring and three sizes to pick from. The patternation varies piece to piece, so what arrives is yours alone. A neat small gift to post, and light enough that it will not frighten the postage.
Every piece is a one-off
That is the thing to understand about this shop. Nothing is made in a run, so the pendant you are looking at today is the only one of its kind, and once it goes it is gone. If something catches your eye, take it while it is there.
You can see the full range at the Gneiss Things shop page, and there is plenty more from the same island in our Isle of Harris pages and in the earlier gifts from the Isle of Harris guide. Christmas lists are starting to form around now, and a piece of the oldest rock in the Hebrides is a hard thing to beat for someone who loves these islands.
