Guatemalan Olmec Blue/Orange Bead #1
$350.00
This Bead is shaped with high middle crest that is not simply tapered to the ends from the middle but is slightly concave from the center to the ends. This is a mixed colored Bead. Blue is the main but has a nice mix of shaded light blue and the yellow/orange. The yellow/orange colors is becoming rare now out of Guatemala since those colors were from the surface materials that have now all been collected. They are now mining underground and those jadeites have a white skin. This is a stunning and beautiful Bead. High polish all details covered when making this Bead.
Please note, this Bead has an unfinished whole leaving the option to the buyer to have me finish it the way they want. I will offer this from time to time as I know sometimes people may buy a bead with the intention to string it in the middle as a focal bead which and unfishined end can be more useful depending on the design. I will leave the options to the buyer.
I offer the following on this bead:
- Clean and polish existing hole (2.5mm)
- Carve and polish the ends to a deep concave end
Either above option I can make the whole larger up to around 6mm if wanting to where on a chain or heavy cord.
Cording
Specifications
Bead Specifications:
Length: 40 mm (1.57 inch)
Width: 19.6 mm (0.77 inch)
Inner Hole Diameter: 2.5 mm
Weight: 28 g (Approximately 6.8 grams before hollowed out ends)
Material History
OLMEC BLUE JADEITE HISTORY:
Scholars searched for half a century to find the prized blue jadeite of the Olmecs and Mayan’s. It was re-discovered in 2002 after the local hurricane devastated the local forests and people which exposed the jadeite veins in 1998. This jadeite material rivals the best from Myanmar, formerly Burma. The Olmecs of the pre-Columbian era considered this jade more valuable than gold. It is believed that the Olmecs believed that the blue jade is most prized and the kings and their families were always buried with it for acceptance into the next life.
BACKGROUND:
Blue jadeite bangles are hard to come by. Search everywhere and you'll see how infrequent these are available. This top quality jadeite is a recent find in Guatemala and top grade is being compared to top grade Burmese. Fracture free similar bangles have been sold for up to $15,000. This material is a little different that other top quality blue jadeite mentioned above as it has white jadeite inclusions looking like "Snow". Some call this "Blizzard" or "Storm".
About
Proud to say one of my specialties at Jadedivers.com is making one of kind custom beads found almost no where in the world. Most of my beads are going to have cone tapered ends that are deburred and polished. My photos are taken to show the natural colors without photo enhancements. I believe this will best represent the colors and promote repeat customers.
** Note: Many items stated to be "Jade" on Etsy and Ebay are not. In many cases, price does not indicate this either so buying an expensive item may be a jade replica like glass. There are many other stones including agate, grossular garnet, serpentine (many forms), aventurine... being sold as jade. To make it worse and more complicated, many jadeite stones are being reconditioned and died to be very attractive so they pass general tests to be real. If you see very clear bangles, odds are they are agate, glass or something else. If you see very bright colors of red, yellow, purple... most likely not real. I say this as many buyers are being fooled on-line by these practices.