Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

#JOTW My holy grail: A “devil’s work” jadeite necklace

Thank you @yssie @LLJsmom


yssie said:
Thank you SO much for sharing this with us L.

When I saw this thread the first thing I did was scroll down to see your photos. It didn’t even occur to me that the links would have to be carved from a single piece - I just assumed they were glued, somehow. Obviously. How could you make a chain any other way?

Then I read your description, and looked at your links, and I’m... Floored. You’re completely right. Our most treasured pieces often aren’t our most expensive - they’re the ones we searched longest for, the ones that require esoteric expertise to execute on, the ones that... We know we couldn’t replace. Your chain is literally everything that can ever be special about jewellery. Someone poured mastery and love into creating this one.

Devil’s work. When I got my Sea of Cortez pearls - one of the first things I remember feeling was pride - that we live in a world where our fauna can create otherworldly beauty. Our seas created that! “Not yours, hypothetical-alien, beat that!!” Devil’s work. That’s kind of what I’m feeling right now, looking at your photos - proud that my species can create otherworldly artifacts like this. A chain full of links carved out of one single stone. Beat this, hypothetical-alien!! :bigsmile: :love:

And you look amazing in it!!! We’ve talked about good colours for different skin tones on here. This cool grey-blue-green is perfect for your palette :love:
Click to expand...

Awww you describe so perfectly. You really write so well and eloquently! Indeed... really not my most valuable piece of jewelry but from a craftsmanship perspective I think it’s right at the top. I mean, the idea that it’s all from one piece of jadeite/rock still floors me. I don’t even think I can do a vegetable carving like as @pokerface (love them by the way!) shared not to mention carving a hard rock.
 
Congratulations on your stunning holy grail piece! I'll admit, when I first saw it, I went down a rabbit hole trying to find another one like it, to no avail. Now that I learn it's a piece years in the procuring, the phrase that comes to mind is...上天不辜负有心人。
 
Wow, when I first saw your pictures I thought gorgeous, but when I went back and read the details again - it's like - all from one piece!!! And so lovely and tactile. And my brain keeps coming back to the notion that what is now fluid and flexible, started as one solid, rigid rock.
 
voce said:
Congratulations on your stunning holy grail piece! I'll admit, when I first saw it, I went down a rabbit hole trying to find another one like it, to no avail. Now that I learn it's a piece years in the procuring, the phrase that comes to mind is...上天不辜负有心人。
Click to expand...

So many years @voce ... so long ago I don’t even remember when I first wanted one... (>10 years) if you want one too I hope you don’t have to wait as long as I did!

Here is another I saw and asked about a few years ago... the price was staggering, though seeing how beautifully green the pendant part is I think the price is justified:

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com

Beautiful right? The workmanship looks perfect too.

Tartansparkles said:
Wow, when I first saw your pictures I thought gorgeous, but when I went back and read the details again - it's like - all from one piece!!! And so lovely and tactile. And my brain keeps coming back to the notion that what is now fluid and flexible, started as one solid, rigid rock.
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly. I was like mind blown when I first found out about such necklaces years ago. Still sort of feel that way even though I now have one :lol:
 
@icy_jade I’m at the Field Museum (Chicago) for the first time and they have a small jade exhibit, and there are some vases that reminded me of this thread!!

Unfortunately all the specimens on display have lost their chains!! Only the last ring to which a chain would have connected remains ;( I was so excited to hopefully see one of these amazing chain creations myself!

One day...
 

Attachments

  • 6EE5BB55-8727-48DB-90E6-23734FA64728.jpeg
    6EE5BB55-8727-48DB-90E6-23734FA64728.jpeg
    86.2 KB · Views: 7
  • 679BEF8F-560B-4CC4-BA34-C467098F1DBD.jpeg
    679BEF8F-560B-4CC4-BA34-C467098F1DBD.jpeg
    105.9 KB · Views: 6
  • 990A0C65-2F1B-4AF4-A94C-50BF75BE27C9.jpeg
    990A0C65-2F1B-4AF4-A94C-50BF75BE27C9.jpeg
    116.9 KB · Views: 9
Love love love this.
 
yssie said:
@icy_jade I’m at the Field Museum (Chicago) for the first time and they have a small jade exhibit, and there are some vases that reminded me of this thread!!

Unfortunately all the specimens on display have lost their chains!! Only the last ring to which a chain would have connected remains ;( I was so excited to hopefully see one of these amazing chain creations myself!

One day...
Click to expand...

Oh yes their collection of jade is neat! If you have time, check out the Art Institute of Chicago. Their jade pieces vary, but they rotate a lot of the works in the Asian art section as they have a massive collection (especially woodblock prints).

If you go, check out the Ando Gallery…it’s tucked away…one of my favorite places in Chicago. It was designed specifically for Japanese screens and ceramics if that strikes your fancy.
 
There's lots of jade at the newly renovated halls of gems & minerals at the American Museum of Natural History, too, including at least one jade chain.
 
yssie said:
@icy_jade I’m at the Field Museum (Chicago) for the first time and they have a small jade exhibit, and there are some vases that reminded me of this thread!!

Unfortunately all the specimens on display have lost their chains!! Only the last ring to which a chain would have connected remains ;( I was so excited to hopefully see one of these amazing chain creations myself!

One day...
Click to expand...

Its amazing to think the whole thing was one hunk of rock
Thanks for thinking of us all with the pix
 
glitterata said:
There's lots of jade at the newly renovated halls of gems & minerals at the American Museum of Natural History, too, including at least one jade chain.
Click to expand...

In NYC? I’ve been wanting to go!! When did you go - what did you think!?
 
yssie said:
In NYC? I’ve been wanting to go!! When did you go - what did you think!?
Click to expand...

Yes, NYC. I've been several times. It's glorious.
 
Oh, this piece definitely deserves the spotlight for a week!

How incredibly fascinating. The detail and the time you know it must have taken to fabricate makes it so incredibly special. Congratulations on finding such a treasured piece, and thank you for sharing the story and journey with us. :D
 
Thank you @PriceScopeKayti for the unexpected honor! Didn’t expect that a piece like this could make JOTW (else honestly I would have tried to take better pics!). Thanks again!
 
vintageinjune said:
Oh, this piece definitely deserves the spotlight for a week!

How incredibly fascinating. The detail and the time you know it must have taken to fabricate makes it so incredibly special. Congratulations on finding such a treasured piece, and thank you for sharing the story and journey with us. :D
Click to expand...

Thank you! It’s a very special piece in my collection, more like an art piece than a jewelry and I’m incredibly lucky to own it.
 
Congrats on JOTW! This is an amazing piece of art and I am so happy that you found it for yourself!
 
This is beautiful and fascinating!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top