Jewelry from Israel question

[absinthe at mad.scientist.com]

 Amanda Lewanski  wrote:
> Yael, you might be able to help me with something; John's comment on
> jewelry on the recreation post reminded me. I have two pieces of 
jewelry
> which say "Made in Israel." One's a ring, one's a pendant. They're
> silver, but they have the coolest inset. I don't know if it's a 
stone or
> what. The top layer is clear, and thick, and the layer beneath it is
> black, and between the two, so it is set against the black 
background,
> is an image in what looks like stamped gold leaf (or very 
well-tooled
> thin gold). The ring has a rampant lion, the pendant has a flower. 
The
> detail on the gold images is incredible and tiny.
> 
> ANYway, my question to you is, since you're there and all that, have 
you
> seen jewelry like this? Can you tell me anything about it? Because 
the
> only material I'm sure of is the silver, I don't know what the black
> background is or whether the clear layer is a clear stone or a real 
hard
> polymer or something. Any help would be great; they're really 
beautiful.
> 

I know what you're talking about because I've seen some jewelry like 
that. I can't remember what the technique is called...My mind is 
stuck on "damascene" right now and I know that's not it...

:-(Milz (taking a chocolate break to clear my mind)