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Piece of the Week: Arunashi’s Fordite and Rhodolite Earrings
Fordite is a man-made material created from the layers of dried enamel paint that dripped onto the floors of automotive factories.
Fordite is not a natural gemstone, despite how alluring it looks in our latest Piece of the Week.
While it looks similar to agate, fordite is a man-made material and a byproduct of the automotive industry during the muscle-car era.
It was first collected at Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1940s, giving the material its name—ford-ite.
At the time, cars were painted with a hand-spraying technique that would cause the enamel paint to drip onto the floors of the factories and dry in layers once the cars were baked.
While it looks similar to agate, fordite is a man-made material and a byproduct of the automotive industry during the muscle-car era.
It was first collected at Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1940s, giving the material its name—ford-ite.
At the time, cars were painted with a hand-spraying technique that would cause the enamel paint to drip onto the floors of the factories and dry in layers once the cars were baked.
“Every layer of our story, even the messy ones, can become part of a masterpiece.”— Arun Bohra, Arunashi
To use the leftover paint in jewelry it is cut and polished. A 2016 issue of GIA’s Gems & Gemology article notes that it takes about 997 layers of paint to create a piece of fordite that is 1-inch thick.
Today, automobile factories are automated and use techniques like electrostatic painting, which eliminate the accidental production of now-valuable fordite, according to Jalopnik.
Our Piece of the Week, these fordite and rhodolite earrings by Arunashi, are an ode to the bright beauty of retro-futurism, a place where nostalgia and innovation mix, the brand said.
The silver earrings center on pointed drops of fordite framed by reverse-set blue sapphires. At the top of each earring a rhodolite is encircled by reverse-set diamonds and more blue sapphires.
The piece is a form of wearable time travel and a talisman for those drawn to the romance of what was and the thrill of what’s to come, Arunashi said.
“Fordite is born from countless layers of paint, once part of the chaos of the factory floor, now transformed into something rare and extraordinary. Rhodolite, with its deep clarity and sense of purpose, feels like its perfect counterpart,” said Arun Bohra, CEO and designer of Arunashi.
“Together, they remind us that beauty often comes from both intention and accident—that every layer of our story, even the messy ones, can become part of a masterpiece. This is for the visionary soul, the one who can find rhythm in complexity and glimpse abundance where others see only fragments.”
Arunashi’s fordite and rhodolite earrings debuted in fall 2024 and are price upon request.
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