Amethyst Serving Tray with Brass Handles

About the Amethyst

Amethyst is a purple quartz and it is uneven by nature. One part of a slab can hold a strong violet while the part beside it runs almost clear, with the deepest color sitting where the crystal points were. On a flat plate that reads as soft patches of purple drifting across a paler ground.

The polished face is glassy and takes a bright, hard reflection. Where the stone is thin it turns translucent and daylight comes through with a mauve cast; on a dark table it looks denser than it does in the hand.

How It’s Made

The amethyst is cut to a rectangle and the perimeter is electroformed, which means metal is grown onto the stone until the rim has real thickness and is bonded for good, rather than laid over it as a leaf or coating that can rub off. A handle is fitted at each short end; the handles are solid brass, shaped as an open leaf or a laurel arch, and finished with the rim in silver, rose gold or gold.

Details

• Material: natural amethyst stone plate
• Size: 9" x 14"
• Finish: electroformed silver, rose gold or gold on the tray and the handles
• Handles: solid brass, in an open leaf or laurel arch style
• Food use: serve with a liner, board or servingware rather than putting food straight onto the stone

The stone is natural, so the spread of the purple and the clarity of the quartz differ on every tray.

A Gift For

Bought most often as a wedding or engagement present, and as a housewarming gift for a first proper dining table. The rectangle suits a small kitchen as easily as a long table, which makes it a safe host or hostess gift when you do not know the room.

Use and Care

Serve cheese, fruit or drinks from it with a liner or servingware over the stone. Clean it with a soft, damp cloth, dry the brass immediately afterward, and do not soak the tray or scrub the electroformed edge.