Big Sur Nephrite "Ancient" Jade Bead #9
$200.00
Here we have a twist in bead making. A lot of people have been asking "How" am I doing this. Well, that's a secrete. I am calling the "Ancient Beads" as they have the appearance of being worn down over a century. Very rough looking and unique. The surface is usually very pitted and veined showing all of the hard and soft zones of the nephrite. This is definately a rough look popular with men but not only. The ends are concave and highly polished.
This bead is made from Big Sur black nephrite jade. It is a large barrel shape. This type of look will get a lot of questions.
If you want a cord with this, it is recomended to see the cording option in the beads or pendants page. Choose one with the black jade toggle. I will pre-set the lenght for you.
Note: All Big Sur jade to make my items are found free diving by me. I do not typically use tanks while searching for jade beneath the sea. There are some exceptions to this and will be noted when found by someone else.
At JadeDivers, pendant sized beads are what we are mostly known for. We take immense pride in using only natural, untreated materials, ensuring each bead’s unique beauty and authenticity. Our meticulous craftsmanship guarantees an array of designs, each reflecting our commitment to quality that very few compare. Our beads are created with many styles and shapes from barrel to round beads both having options in different finishes from high polish to a rough weathered look. We found a niche that there are many collectors out there that appreciate our art brining a positive energy to their collections.
Specifications
Bead Specifications:
Length: 2.03 inch
Width/Diameter: 0.744 inch
Inner Hole Diameter: 2.5 mm
Weight: 30.5g
Material History
Big Sur jade history:
There are many stories of the history of diving and gathering nephrite jade from the ocean in Big Sur. It is a magical place both on land and in the ocean. The jade here is unique and closest in color and texture variations can be found in New Zealand. Although the black nephrite from this location is very similar to the black nephrite found in Russia. There are a large variety of colors from dark green to light green, light blue to dark blue and all the mixes in between. Very rarely is there white jade found in Big Sur. The quality of Big Sur jade is also very variable with some being extremely high quality. Finding fracture free nephrite in this locality (due to being right on the fault line and being pounded by ocean storms) is very difficult making larger carvings and bangles that are fracture free almost impossible.
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.