Description: In the Japanese Imperial court of the Heian era, only the Empress and her court ladies were allowed to wear clothing dyed in murasaki, a delicate shade of purple that was so fragile that it quickly faded in strong sunlight. This necklace captures that elusive beauty with several different types of neodymium-based "alexandrite" glass, whose color consistently changes depending on the type of surrounding light. The first two pictures were taken in indirect natural sunlight, the third was under an incandescent bulb, and the fourth was under fluorescents. The normal type of transparent neo-alex glass is pale lavender in sunlight; incandescent light can give it a warmer tine of pink, but fluorescent light converts it to a chilly ice-blue. In addition to normal neo-alex, the necklace has a translucent "opal" variety with a similar color shift. It also has the slightly different "neo-orchid" alexandrite variation (it holds more of a purple hue under fluorescents), and a "neo-orchid givre" with opaque white streaks. The centerpiece is a magatama gemstone amulet carved from cape amethyst. From different angles, the shape of this "curved jewel" (the literal translation) can resemble a drop of water, a tongue of flame, or a sprouting seed. According to legend, the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu wore a necklace of these jewels and passed it down to her descendants, who became the Emperors of Japan. Her necklace is said to be preserved as one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, which still play a part in the ceremonial enthronement of each new Emperor but have never been shown to outsiders. The amethyst has a creamy, opaque texture, with a graceful gradient of intensity from dusky violet along the inward curve to a pastel moonlit mist along the outer crescent. It also has a small snowcap of pure white on one side of its tip, as shown in the second picture. (The washed-out size-comparison coin is a US dime, about 18mm in diameter.) The total length of this necklace is 24" from clasp to clasp. The magatama itself is about 1-1/2" long, for a total drop length of ~4-1/2" from the top of the interwoven triangular centerpiece. Except for the cape amethyst magatama, all of the beads are imported Czech glass, including the tiny silver-lined seed spacers. I've hand-strung all of these components onto 20lb-test gel-spun polymer, a high-tech fiber that's even stronger than steel wire. The endcaps and trigger/split-ring clasp are sterling silver. Please check my other listings for more pretties, and thanks for looking! ^_^
Price: 119.99 USD
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
End Time: 2025-02-08T07:27:54.000Z
Shipping Cost: 3 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
