Last year I designed a set of six Shakespeare-inspired pendants for the Stratford-upon-Avon Art Society Summer Exhibition. I was absolutely delighted by the response these received, and that has encouraged me to continue this theme for 2025. Having lived in Stratford from the age of 19 and later working in the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s Library & Archive for many years, it’s hard to not be inspired by the world’s most famous playwright, who also lived in this beautiful town. So I have chosen six more plays and designed these one-off statement pendants to represent them in silver, with gemstones added for their colour and physical qualities, plus accents in copper and brass. I wonder if you can guess the play just from looking at the design. Some are more obvious than others. Here they are, with a brief explanation:

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet 

Probably Shakespeare’s most famous play, this tragedy can’t fail to evoke emotions. Two young people, born into feuding families, meet and fall in love, a scenario doomed to have a tragic ending. 

The lovers at the centre of the story, are represented by two hearts at the centre of the pendant. When Romeo sees Juliet at her balcony, he likens her to the sun, saying “What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun”. I decided to depict Juliet as the sun using a beautiful sunny yellow opal. No happy ending for the pair, the play descends into tragedy, so it seemed fitting to include a teardrop hanging below, a black obsidian teardrop-shaped cabochon representing the tears of their grief and darkness of their untimely fate. 

Materials: Recycled sterling silver, rose cut natural yellow opal, teardrop natural black obsidian, hung on an 18” (45cm) sterling silver belcher chain. 

Pendant height: 45mm   width: 23mm

Shakespeare’s Hamlet 

Hamlet is another of Shakespeare’s tragedies. The young prince sees the ghost of his father and discovers that he was murdered by his uncle. The play’s themes are revenge, death, deception and corruption. 

I placed a red garnet at the top of the pendant to represent a drop of blood, and the deaths that occurr throughout the play. “Stay, give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is thine; Here’s to thy health”. A poisoned pearl is placed in Hamlet's goblet in an attempt to poison him. I have placed an akoya pearl at the centre of the pendant and the stems of the surrounding flowers create the goblet shape around it. The flowers are handed out by Ophelia “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray, love, remember; and there’s pansies, that’s for thoughts.”  I have surrounded the pearl with sprigs of rosemary and pansies. Rosemary also represents enduring memories, love, loyalty, and fidelity, while pansies represent love, nostalgia and compassion. 

Materials: Recycled sterling silver, akoya freshwater pearl, natural garnet, hung on an 18” (45cm) sterling silver belcher chain. 

Pendant height: 34mm   width: 29mm

Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost

Love’s Labour’s Lost is a Shakespeare comedy. The plot centres around the King of Navarre and 3 friends, who take an oath to renounce women and dedicate themselves to their studies for three years. However, their ability to honour their pledge is undone by the arrival of the Princess of France and her three ladies. Like moths that cannot resist flying towards a light, the king and his noblemen allow their superficial desires to get the better of them. This is why I decided to make the shape of this pendant a moth. On each wing a raised heart represents the king on one side and the princess on the other and three cut out hearts each side represent their companions. As one of the noblemen admires one of the ladies he declares “Her amber hairs for foul hath amber quoted”, and I chose a natural amber cabochon for the centrepiece of the pendant. A moonstone suspended on the chain above is the light that attracts the moth. 

Materials: Recycled sterling silver, oval natural amber, round natural rainbow moonstone, hung on an 18” (45cm) sterling silver belcher chain. 

Pendant height: 45mm   width: 42mm  

Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors 

Another of Shakespeare’s comedies in which misunderstandings and mistaken identities cause lots of confusion. Two sets of identical twins who have been separated are at the centre of the action, and I have represented them in my pendant with two symmetrical heart shapes. The confusion causes some trauma for the characters, however everything works out for them and their reunion brings a happy ending. I’ve included the Comedy and Tragedy masks to represent symbolise the twins’ emotional journey. As usual in Shakespeare, there is love interest within the play, and one of the twin brothers describes the lady who is the object of his desires, “Oh, sir, upon her nose, all o’er embellished with rubies, carbuncles, sapphires”. I have added a little round natural garnet (carbuncle) in the centre of the pendant, and hung a faceted natural raw ruby below. 

Materials: Recycled sterling silver, round natural garnet, faceted round natural raw ruby, hung on an 18” (45cm) sterling silver belcher chain. 

Pendant height: 46mm width: 30mm

Shakespeare’s The Tempest 

The tempest, a violent storm causes a shipwreck and the crew and passengers to be marooned on a desert island where Prospero and his daughter Miranda have been stranded for many years. Prospero has learned to use magic to control nature and the creatures in the forests. Miranda begs her father to stop the storm “If by your art, my dearest father, you have put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.”  

This pendant depicts the storm, with a beautiful large natural aquamarine representing the colour of the sea, and a shimmering gold obsidian to represent the dark magic that is at play. A brass lightning bolt descends from the storm clouds and hits the rolling waves. 

Materials: Recycled sterling silver, brass, faceted round natural gold obsidian, oval natural aquamarine, hung on an 18” (45cm) sterling silver belcher chain. 

Pendant height: 40mm  width: 28mm

Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale 

The jealous King Leontes falsely suspects his wife Hermione of infidelity with his best friend. Believing his newborn daughter Perdita, to be illegitimate, he banishes the baby. A servant leaves the infant in Bohemia, where she is found and raised by shepherds. Sixteen years later Perdita meets the Prince of Bohemia and they fall in love. The prince describes Perdita “These your unusual weeds to each part of you do give a life: no shepherdess, but Flora peering in April's front.” 

This pendant depicts a deciduous tree in winter. A shepherd’s crook made from copper frames a natural raw ruby, which represents the bag of treasures that were left with the baby, a clue to her true identity. An icy natural rainbow moonstone adds to the winter theme. 

Materials: Recycled sterling silver, copper, oval natural rainbow moonstone, faceted oval natural raw ruby, hung on an 18” (45cm) sterling silver belcher chain. 

Pendant height: 52mm  width: 20mm

The exhibition is open daily from 13th to 24th August. Don't miss it!