1930s Chain Necklaces

Nephrite jade has been woven into the weft and weave of Chinese culture for thousands of years. 2,000 years ago, when the Han Dynasty princess Dou Wan died, she was buried in a suit made of nephrite jade. Knives and axes for battle and daily work were made from it and chains were carved from single nephrite boulders; chains that would be attached to horses to pull carts. Nephrite is the toughest gemstone due to its fibrous interlocking mineralogical structure. But it's not merely tough and durable; nephrite is beautiful. Indeed, the original "imperial jade" was nephrite jade, not the jadeite we think of today. This 28" necklace was hand-carved in or around 1935 from one piece of nephrite jade. Each link was carved by hand, prior to China's industrial revolution in the 1950s so these links were painstakingly hand-carved using foot-powered grinding wheels and garnet dust. To create a necklace of such uniform links without cracking or damaging a single one in the process would have taken months if not a year or more of relentless grinding and polishing. Which is why this style of interlocking jade...

Natural untreated Jadeite Jade onyx diamond solid Platinum pendant necklace ,circa 1930s Art Deco pendant frame and handmade chain. 1 carved Jadeite Jade, mottled green no enhanceme...