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Jadeite and Diamond Pendant Earrings
$12,500
Dating from the 1930s, these pendant earrings are composed of jadeite and diamonds mounted in platinum. Each is designed as a circular jadeite cabochon suspending geometric diamond tops and elongated jadeite drops carved to depict gourds on a fruiting leafy vine. Carved, highly polished jadeite set together with sparkling diamonds, a French Art Deco favorite, combine here to create these intriguing and colorful pendant earrings.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: ER-20175
Circa: 1920s
Size: 3.00” length x 0.625” width
Materials: 2 elongated carved jadeite jade; 24 round-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 1.00 carat); 2 baguette-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 0.26 carat); Platinum
Jade carving, a Chinese tradition stretching back thousands of years, is both a technology and an art. Jadeite, a sub-species of jade, was discovered in the 18th century, and immediately found an appreciative artisan and collector market in China. The best gem-quality jadeite, prized for its transparency and for particular shades of green, is mined in Burma, a land rich in gem materials such as extraordinary sapphire and ruby. Jadeite is an inter-growth of minerals that together are extremely resistant to carving and fashioning of any kind. Virtuoso jadeite carvers create abstract forms, such as the Pi, a perforated disk representing power and authority, as well as elaborate natural motifs such as fruiting or flowering vines and symbolic animals. In these earpendants, the carved gourds have talismanic and spiritual meanings. In Chinese culture, the gourd is a protective symbol associated with longevity and magic. In Daoism, the shape of the gourd more broadly represents the universe, connoting sufficiency and contentment. Gourd-shaped gates leading into gardens and parks suggest entrance into a world of peace and well-being.