Jade & Coral Necklace, Circa 1930s

This beautiful and beautifully simple necklace was handmade in China in the 1920s or into the 1930s during the Republican Era (1912-1949). It was created for export. The turquoise...

Bright, and filled with light, this radiant Art Deco era (circa 1920s -1930s) necklace is composed of 107 hand-carved and polished natural and untreated Burmese jadeite jade beads. The beads range in size from 4.13mm to 9.38. Overall, the beads are a bright, fresh spring green. I would say "pea green" but that sounds so awful. In truth, the beads are the color of those hard and shiny peas that you see when you crack open the first pod of the season. But these beads are also genetically gifted: they contain little patches of shockingly perfect imperial green, deep forest green, and even a green so faint it reminds me of light green velvet rubbed the wrong way so that light reflects off where you stroked your finger over the velvet and the green velvet is now whiter. Yes, go ahead and say it: the necklace deserves a finer clasp. But does it? This clasp is original to the piece. It was made by hand in the early twentieth century. It's silver and once it was gilt. It's a clasp I've seen on many jade and beaded necklaces from this period and I find the humble nature...

I must have been subliminally thinking about Cartier’s Art Deco jewelry when I was making this. I love the combination of coral with emeralds....

Early 20th Century Beaded Necklace with Green Jade and Pearl. This necklace features green jade beads, complemented by white pearls. The beads are strung together with silver accents...