Description

The very special vintage pendant and bronze beads in this piece are by One Sweet Bead Company which is no longer in business. Usually when I research items from makers that no longer exist I can find something about them but not for this wonderful company. I don’t know when it operated nor when it closed, but I can say they are a terrible loss to those of us who love artful jewelry. These pieces are from the estate of a jewelry maker who worked in the 90s. I’ve looked and have been unable to find more which makes this necklace special indeed.

This piece also holds some of the very last old stock, polychrome Hubei turquoise I have access to at anything like affordable prices. Turquoise just doesn’t get more lovely than this or more interesting. Polychrome is turquoise that has at least three colors and this has that in spades. It’s olive green and bright teal with rich caramels and deep brown and black veining. It is a joy to work with such beautiful stone.

About Chinese turquoise: I had been focusing all of my work on southwestern turquoise, but then I started seeing examples out of Hubei that are just gorgeous, so I started looking. I’ve expanded my range to include Hubei because it’s just too beautiful to overlook.

There is a misconception that Chinese turquoise is somehow inferior to the southwest mines, but that’s simply not the case. The qualities of turquoise that come from Hubei range from very soft material, needing to be treated to make it usable, to an attractive green spiderweb, to a very hard and fine blue with dark veined spiderweb matrix that could be considered some of the world’s finest turquoise.

It is said that for every well known American mine, there is a Chinese counterpart producing similar material. Popular examples are the Number 8 and Lander Blue mines because of the spider-web matrix, but Chinese turquoise can even be mistaken for Royston, Kingman, Bisbee, and more because of the massive variations in color and matrix. Chinese turquoise ranges all across the spectrum from deep greens to dark blues and even yellows.

The Hubei Province is a large producer of high quality turquoise partly because of its geology and climate. Turquoise is commonly found in shallow deposits in arid regions, which is much of the Hubei province. Unlike American turquoise which is usually identified by the specific mine, Chinese turquoise has historically simply been referred to as “Chinese turquoise,” even though there are several different areas that produce the stone. Turquoise has been mined in China as far back as 3,700 years ago, maybe longer, evidenced by its use in many pieces of art and carvings from some of the earliest dynasties.

Chinese turquoise is gaining global popularity, and is eagerly being bought at a time when many mines of the American southwest have been depleted and are closed or closing. It is a misnomer to think of Chinese turquoise as inexpensive, especially the old stock.

Hubei Turquoise is a stone of calmness and tranquility, aids in stress-relief and the elimination of negative energy. Turquoise possesses healing properties for energetic protection and shielding, as well as the ability to support healing intentions and overall well-being.

Made using what to me are precious, vintage and no longer available bronze beads and a bronze and copper pendant by the artisans of One sweet Bead Company, old stock olive green polychrome Hubei turquoise ovals and Red Creek jasper. Strung on 49 strand nylon coated stainless steel wire with sterling crimps and gold bronze findings with a gold bronze rustic handmade textured toggle clasp. 18 1/2″