Description

18mm St Francis – 18kt gold filled Pendant

18mm length x 12mm wide – 1.17grams

Does not include the chain – presented in an organza bag

GOLD FILLED

Gold-filled, or “rolled gold”, is created by bonding or “welding” a
thin layer of gold to a base metal core. This is achieved by using heat
and pressure. USA industry standards require there to be 1/20^th by weight layer of 14 karat gold permanently bonded over a core of base metal.

When you come across the reference “18/20 Gold-Filled” this means that item is 1/20 18K gold or more simply put the 18 = karats and the 20 refers to the % of gold in an item. 1/20 = 5% gold. The 1/20 fraction refers to the ratio of the 18 karat gold layer to the base metal (brass) layer by weight, which is 5%   The base metal is most likely to be brass. 18k Gold Fill (14K GF) has ± 100x more gold than a gold plated item. The gold layer found on 18K GF items is usually 50-100x thicker than what is found on a gold plated item.

Gold Filled is hard wearing and if looked after like fine jewellery it should last a lifetime.
Suggested Cleaning Methods

Use soapy water to clean gold filled – Mild soapy water and a toothbrush – a child’s soft toothbrush and a mild detergent is the perfect combination for cleaning golf-filled jewellery. The detergent can remove residue or fingerprints from the item, and still leave it shiny and bright when it’s done. Be sure the toothbrush is soft or it may scratch your piece!

Brilliant jewellery polishing cloths are safe for gold-filled soft cloth – using a clean, soft cotton cloth is an ideal way to polish your gold-filled pieces. A soft cloth will not scratch the surface. There are treated jewellery polishing cloths, such as Brilliant, that work well; however, some chemicals are not recommended on gold-filled items so double check that they are safe to use. Do not leave chemicals on your gold-filled. Always rinse and polish again with a soft cloth to remove residue.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Biography

Saint (c. 1181–1226)

Who Was Saint Francis of Assisi?

Born in Italy circa 1181, Saint Francis of Assisi was renowned for drinking
and partying in his youth. After fighting in a battle between Assisi and
Perugia, Francis was captured and imprisoned for ransom. He spent
nearly a year in prison — awaiting his father’s payment — and, according
to legend, began receiving visions from God. After his release from
prison, Francis heard the voice of Christ, who told him to repair the
Christian Church and live a life of poverty. Consequently, he abandoned
his life of luxury and became a devotee of the faith, his reputation
spreading all over the Christian world.

Later in life, Francis reportedly received a vision that left him with the stigmata of Christ —
marks resembling the wounds Jesus Christ suffered when he was
crucified — making Francis the first person to receive such holy wounds.
He was canonized as a saint on July 16, 1228. During his life he also
developed a deep love of nature and animals and is known as the patron
saint of the environment and animals; his life and words have had a
lasting resonance with millions of followers across the globe. Each
October, many animals the world over are blessed on his feast day.

Why Is Saint Francis the Patron Saint of Animals?

Today, Saint Francis of Assisi is the patron saint for ecologists — a title honoring his boundless love for animals and nature.

Early Life of Luxury

Born circa 1181, in Assisi, duchy of Spoleto, Italy, Saint Francis of
Assisi, though revered today, began his life as a confirmed sinner. His
father was a wealthy cloth merchant who owned farmland around Assisi,
and his mother was a beautiful Frenchwoman. Francis was not in want
during his youth; he was spoiled, indulging himself with fine food,
wine, and wild celebrations. By age 14, he had left school and become
known as a rebellious teenager who frequently drank, partied and broke
the city curfew. He was also known for his charm and vanity.

In these privileged surroundings, Francis of Assisi learned the skills of
archery, wrestling and horsemanship. He was expected to follow his
father into the family textile business but was bored by the prospect
of life in the cloth trade. Instead of planning a future as a merchant,
he began daydreaming of a future as a knight; knights were Medieval
action heroes, and if Francis had any ambition, it was to be a war hero
like them. It wouldn’t be long before the opportunity for warfare
beckoned.In 1202 war broke between Assisi and Perugia, and Francis eagerly took his place with the cavalry. Little did he know at the time, his experience with war would change him forever.

After the War

After a year of negotiations, Francis’ ransom was accepted, and he was
released from prison in 1203. When he came back to Assisi, however,
Francis was a very different man. Upon his return, he was dangerously
sick in both mind and body — a battle-fatigued casualty of war.

One day, as legend has it, while riding on a horse in the local
countryside, Francis encountered a leper. Prior to the war, Francis
would have run from the leper, but on this occasion, his behavior was
very different. Viewing the leper as a symbol of moral conscience — or
as Jesus incognito, according to some religious scholars — he embraced
and kissed him, later describing the experience as a feeling of
sweetness in his mouth. After this incident, Francis felt an
indescribable freedom. His earlier lifestyle had lost all of its appeal.

One day, as legend has it, while riding on a horse in the local
countryside, Francis encountered a leper. Prior to the war, Francis
would have run from the leper, but on this occasion, his behavior was
very different. Viewing the leper as a symbol of moral conscience — or
as Jesus incognito, according to some religious scholars — he embraced
and kissed him, later describing the experience as a feeling of
sweetness in his mouth. After this incident, Francis felt an
indescribable freedom. His earlier lifestyle had lost all of its appeal.

Subsequently, Francis, now in his early
20s, began turning his focus toward God. Instead of working, he spent an
ever-increasing amount of time at a remote mountain hideaway as well as
in old, quiet churches around Assisi, praying, looking for answers, and
helping nurse lepers. During this time, while praying before an old
Byzantine crucifix at the church of San Damiano, Francis reportedly
heard the voice of Christ, who told him to rebuild the Christian Church
and to live a life of extreme poverty. Francis obeyed and devoted
himself to Christianity. He began preaching around Assisi and was soon
joined by 12 loyal followers.

Some regarded Francis as a
madman or a fool, but others viewed him as one of the greatest examples
of how to live the Christian ideal since

Jesus Christ himself. Whether he was really touched by God, or simply a man
misinterpreting hallucinations brought on by mental illness and/or poor
health, Francis of Assisi quickly became well-known throughout the
Christian world.

Devotion to Christianity

After his epiphany at the church of San Damiano, Francis experienced another
defining moment in his life. In order to raise money to rebuild the
Christian church, he sold a bolt of cloth from his father’s shop, along
with his horse. His father became furious upon learning of his son’s
actions and subsequently dragged Francis before the local bishop. The
bishop told Francis to return his father’s money, to which his reaction
was extraordinary: He stripped off his clothes, and along with them,
returned the money back to his father, declaring that God was now the
only father he recognized. This event is credited as Francis’ final
conversion, and there is no indication that Francis and his father ever
spoke again thereafter.

The bishop gave Francis a rough tunic,
and dressed in these new humble clothes, Francis left Assisi. Unluckily
for him, the first people he met on the road were a group of dangerous
thieves, who beat him badly. Despite his wounds, Francis was elated.
From now on, he would live according to the Gospel.

Francis’ embrace of
Christ-like poverty was a radical notion at the time. The Christian
church was tremendously rich, much like the people heading it, which
concerned Francis and many others, who felt that the long-held apostolic
ideals had eroded. Francis set out on a mission to restore Jesus
Christ’s own, original values to the now-decadent church. With his
incredible charisma, he drew thousands of followers to him. They
listened to Francis’ sermons and joined in his way of life; his
followers became known as Franciscan friars.

Continuously pushing
himself in the quest for spiritual perfection, Francis was soon
preaching in up to five villages per day, teaching a new kind of
emotional and personal Christian religion that everyday people could
understand. He even went so far as to preach to animals, which garnered
criticism from some and earned him the nickname “God’s fool.” But
Francis’ message was spread far and wide, and thousands of people were
captivated by what they heard.

In 1224 Francis
reportedly received a vision that left him with the stigmata of Christ —
marks resembling the wounds Jesus Christ suffered when he was
crucified, through his hands and the gaping lance wound in his side.
This made Francis the first person to receive the holy wounds of the
stigmata. They would remain visible for the rest of his life. Because of
his earlier work treating lepers, some believe that the wounds were
actually symptoms of leprosy.

Death and Legacy

As Francis approached his death, many predicted that he was a saint in the
making. When his health began to decline more rapidly, Francis went
home. Knights were sent from Assisi to guard him and to make sure that
no one from neighboring towns would carry him off (the body of a saint
was viewed, at the time, as an extremely valuable relic that would
bring, among many things, glory to the town where it rested).

Francis of Assisi died on October 3, 1226, at the age of 44, in Assisi,
Italy. Today, Francis has a lasting resonance with millions of
followers across the globe. He was canonized as a saint just two years
after his death, on July 16, 1228, by his former protector, Pope Gregory
IX. Today, Saint Francis of Assisi is the patron saint for ecologists —
a title honoring his boundless love for animals and nature. In 2013,
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose to honor Saint Francis by taking
his name, becoming Pope Francis.