This heirloom quality belt buckle is completely hand-built and sculpted in solid Sterling Silver, and it is designed to fit on any 1.25” (1 and ¼” width) belt that allows for interchangeable buckles. Solid and substantial, but very comfortable to wear, the Antlers features hand-carved sterling accents soldered and polished on a textured and oxidized background. The centerpiece is a beautiful inlay of Lapiz Lazuli. Edition is limited to 25 numbered pieces.
2 - 5/8" X 1 - 3/4"
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by mass of silver and usually 7.5% by mass of copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. The sterling alloy originated in continental Europe and was being used for commerce as early as the 12th century in the area that is now northern Germany. William Henry uses the latest state-of-the-art casting equipment to create mesmerizing pieces that are often considered par with our hand-carved work.
Lapis lazuli, or lapis for short, is a deep blue, semi-precious stone prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, in Shortugai, and in other mines in the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan.
At the end of the Middle Ages, lapis lazuli began to be exported to Europe, where it was ground into powder and made into ultramarine, the finest and most expensive of all blue pigments. It was used by some of the most important artists of the Renaissance and Baroque, including Masaccio, Perugino, Titian and Vermeer, and was often reserved for the clothing of the central figures of their paintings, especially the Virgin Mary.
