Notably more weathering resistant than surrounding parent rock, the passing of time served to expose this beautiful crystal to early cultures when clearly juxtaposing itself in natural seams exposed against surrounding layered rock, and gave immediate spiritual and material benefits to those societies who discovered it.

Slighter hardier than steel on the Mohr scale quartz was highly valued in ancient culture as hand knapped axes with it’s prized use in this lithic stone technology being one of the longest continuous uses of technology to date.

A crystal that projects clean purity when compared to the rock in which it is often discovered many historical spiritual benefits are to be found recorded hand in hand.

The bible records the gemstone family member amethyst as conferring spiritual protection adorned to the breast plates of high priests, while Christian knights carried crystals of quartz for healing powers, and great thinkers such as Leonardo Da Vinci referred to it as bestowing keenness of thought.

Used extensively by the Celtic people of ancient Western Europe from the Alps to Ireland and Scotland – where large natural deposits are found – quartz was fashioned into myriad crystal figurines which are still to be found in these peoples ancient crypts, and was used in contemporary bead necklaces and bracelets which were traded widely.

Decorating headdresses and crowns larger quartz crystals were used by Egyptian royalty to emphasise social status, while shaman tribal soothsayers gained insights into the spiritual planes from early natural crystals, which were later machined into crystal balls that proved popular for divining in the early twentieth century.

Our own quartz jewelry design uses many quartz crystal family members for their contributions to rich and interesting design, which with varied colouring, myriad lustres of sparkling light and deep inclusions of precious minerals make a fantastic art palette for a modern fashion designer.

Quartz as a mineral is found widely in nature and is an important element of constitution for many rocks such as granite, while after being weathered down though the passing of ages it is found widely distributed as sand particles on beaches around the world.

Quartz is often quarried from deep rock veins, where layers between sedimentary rocks have allowed spaces for the crystals to slowly grow into, and provide for rich sources of surrounding mineral to crystallise and grow from.

Sometimes smaller localised pockets of quartz crystals grow from minerals of other rocks deep below the ground which can be discovered filling large natural crystal clusters.

Natural crystal geodes are formed when hot lava traps gas bubbles which then form into cavities that allow minerals of surrounding material to gradually grow into.

Growing in subterranean high temperature silica rich environments the quartz minerals crystallizes into a variety of well known rock crystals such as citrine and amethyst.

Quartz crystals have two primary types of which the larger macro crystal type is found in many of our quartz jewelry collections and whose crystal structure can be discerned by eye.

This type includes the classic rock crystal white quartz, which as a close to transparent crystal reflects ample light and contrasts well against black and darker opaque hue design.

Ancient Egyptian necklaces and bracelets featured natural quartz crystals as centrepieces of designs that included supporting beads of golden ceramics and precious stones such as emerald.

Possessing greater design depth are the rutilated quartz varieties, these quartz crystals have grown together with rutile inclusions of other minerals and metals that grow naturally within the crystal.

In rutilated quartzes colourful metals such as copper or silver and minerals such as green chlorite are subsumed by a growing quartz crystal or slowly amalgamate together adding beautiful colouring and depth to designs which make use of them.

In our own designs rutile quartzes balance stronger colours in amethyst and other gemstones with the lighter crystals of quartz when used as supporting beads.

Rutile quartzes are an important part of our designer jewelry for their versatility which when balanced with stronger colours acts as a medium to project concepts that make use of many different gemstone types.

Well known quartz jewelry family member amethyst obtains her famous purple colour from the inclusion of scattered iron elements which in deep purple Siberian amethyst is famously prized.

Amethyst colours vary greatly across the world with deep purple to barely visible purple, scattered light and dark colouring and stable colours all being found.

Siberian amethyst as well as other varieties of this quartz family member can be read about in our blog article here.

Amethyst is widely found in Brazil and in many places grows in conjunction with the lighter coloured citrine, even so far as forming a twinned crystal that has traits of both parent crystals that is known as ametrine.

Yellow quartz is called citrine and shines with a range of bright yellow tones from golden citrine’s golden hues to Madeira citrine brown shades and yellow citrine’s lemon yellow colouring.

Quartz family members such as these examples cover many hundreds of other naturally formed crystals where the crystal form is readily apparent to the eye.

Where quartz crystals are not readily apparent to the eye they are termed cryptocrystalline quartz – so called as the crystals are cryptic, these quartz crystals include agate and chalcedony varieties which are used in many of our necklace designs.

Made up of millions of tiny crystals these gemstones posses some of the translucency and reflectivity of macro quartz crystals but with unique properties that come from their makeup, such as deeper colouring and fantastic scattering of reflected light.

Chalcedony is one of this type of quartz with it’s translucent milky colour coming from reflections of light from the tiny micro crystal quartzes.

Though not as transparent to light as macro crystal quartz, it’s hardness and resilience to cutting in common with other microcrystalline quartzes make for easier shaping of pendants and other pieces which are subsequently beautifully shaped.

Our own quartz jewelry includes peace, ring and heart pendants made of milky white chalcedony which impart purity to design and act to balance stronger opaque supporting bead colours while possessing some of the same reflective lightness that is found in other crystal quartzes.

The special type of chalcedony shown in the pendant necklace photo above is a petrified chalcedony.

Forming over many hundreds of millions of years tiny quartz crystals grow into and very slowly replace organic matter leaving visible vestiges of their original fragile forms.

The quartz jewelry piece above shows the forms of tiny marine plants which have left delicate light impressions in the chalcedony matrix, a memory from a warm aquatic world that covered the Earth in a time far removed from our present age.

Belonging to a special type of chalcedony these pieces have stronger natural connections being intimately connected to the living world.

In our quartz jewelry designs petrified chalcedony is often used in forest concepts which project feelings of woodland glades, or in aquatic ocean concepts with projections of aquatic nature and blue ocean tones.

An opaque variety of a micro crystalline quartz is the solid coloured jasper, a form of chalcedony that though lacking translucency shows more strong distinctive colours, though this gemstone is not found in our collections at time of writing.

Agate is a banded chalcedony that is much more translucent to light and can show striking colour bands and landscape impressions where chalcedony is typically comprised of more opaque white colouring.

One colourful and translucent agate variety is banded agate whose bands of colour, though sometimes less colourful than other gemstones, display as painted landscapes and in “moss” agate abound with natural fern like structures.

Our family of quartz jewelry uses the natural lightness and quartz crystal transmission of light as an aid to designs that add levity to natural gemstone and balance stronger natural colours into more balanced designs.

In the above picture an excellent example of cherry blossom agate shows some translucency while with beautiful natural patterning radiates purity while lifting the blue colouring of the supporting beads and adding a deftness of light to the necklace.

Quartz and it’s myriad family members have been friends of jewelry lovers and designers across millennia and enriches our own in house jewelry design in a unique way to our collected necklaces and bracelets.

YAN fashion quartz jewelry styles use quartz as both central and supporting aspects of design depending on the amount of colour and the intended use of the jewelry.

Our designer quartz jewelry is designed with a principal idea and the use of quartz crystals in the design act as an aid to projection of this central concept focus.

With so many types of quartz to choose from with differing colour and lustre of light quartz can be selected as both a central bead that acts as the focus, or as a lighter supporting bead to balance or help project an idea.

In quartz jewelry designs that use many different types of gemstone quartzes can balance harmoniously with crystals such as lighter green prehnite crystals or translucent white moonstone which allows selections of different semi precious stones to act together to carry forward a design concept.

Lighter quartz crystals such as white quartz are also used frequently in our black obsidian bead necklaces and bracelets where their natural light radiance serves to lift darker obsidian blacks.

Even in our gothic range of jewelry that is rich in beautiful black tone, the presence of crystal beads of quartz add a lightness to design and brings an unmistakable natural levity such as in the photo of a bracelet above.

In some of our designs both crypto and crystal quartzes are used together resulting in light radiant designs such as our pixie princess necklaces which are deft and nimble in tone.

I n the necklace above a pendant of agate with a high degree of translucency allows matching to lighter macro crystal phantom quartz beads whose faint vestiges of precursor crystals balance well with the detail in the pendant.

Natural necklaces such as rose woods and wing woods – though not gemstone in nature, can also balance with crypto crystalline agates and chalcedonies.

The following photo shows floral impressions from the cherry blossom agate match well to rose wood beads whose own surface projects natural energy further encouraged with bouquets of silver roses and floral agate supporting beads.

Quartz is to the crystal world as a flower is to the world of plants, at once ubiquitous and widespread in nature though both precious and beautiful no matter where it is found.

Incorporated into quartz jewelry design this crystal of every colour and variety lends itself to harmonising with almost every conceivable type of gemstone acting as a go between of light and dark tone and giver of levity to darker lustres.

As a central bead quartz – as it has done for hundreds of thousands of years, stands out with purity of natural energy projecting light from itself, while selflessly balancing with a range of different jewelry design.

The fantastic family of quartz crystals are an artists treasure trove of colour and light that imbue each piece of jewelry with beauty and selfless energy.

More designer quartz jewelry talked about in our article can be seen in our category of quartz necklaces and bracelets we hope you love our gemstone articles and check our fashion blog for more articles.

Plum Blossom

Background

“For the coming of faint perfume I long knew this was not snow” – Wang An Shi, Song dynasty.

Of western the “three friends of winter” and Eastern “four noble characters” the virtuous plum blossom has been revered by Emperors of ancient China for it’s adherence to Confucian ideals and written of in poem and drawn in art throughout recorded Eastern history.

Family Wu clean ink stones by the fount, overhead a tree petals leaving light blots

No want of pay to praise work of fine beauty, only land and sky gently washed in fragrance all.

In unceasing giving of fragrance and beauty besides the now blackened brush cleaning fount of the artists residence, great poet of the Yuan dynasty, Wang Mian, composed verse comparing the plum blossoms selfless giving to the world with the artists need for complement and praise.

Enduring through relentless struggle, the conquered peoples of the Yuan dynasty strove to survive in a difficult time, for some such as Wang Mian aspects of the plum blossom such as opening in bloom despite the relentless cold served as a symbol to endure and as unceasing spring of virtue the artist could draw from.

Known as the “winter plum” for it’s early blooming, the plum blossom was revered by ancient aristocracy and ruling classes for it’s aspired to purity of virtue, elegant blooms of flower radiating virtuous colour transposed by the cold of winter that most flowers would hide away from.

As a deciduous tree the plum blossom loses most of it’s leaves in winter, in Chinese art the dark outlines of branch and twig further reinforcing a sense of a cooler seasonal climate and stand to make beautiful blooms of flowers that much more evident.

The plum blossom tree is a part of the much larger Prunus variety of over forty varieties of fruiting tree, broadly including old world plums with stalked bunches of less than three flowers, new world plums with clumps of over three flowers, and apricots and their very short stalked groups of flowers to which the Chinese plum flower belongs to.

Plum Blossom and Traditional Chinese Painting

One of the earlier known works including plum blossom is the record “Pantheon of Plum Blossom” by SongXueYan among other contemporary authors. Painted in the Song dynasty over seven hundred years ago this was one of the earliest encyclopedic records of plants showcasing detailed illustrations of nature.

An artist of an artistic collective of plum blossom lovers, along with other artists he made records of over a hundred illustrations of plum blossom trees and other flowering plants.

Illustrating the passionate dedication to art which was pursued by the collective included building purpose built pavilions around the trees, allowing the artists to observe and directly record the nature of the plant.

Common with traditional Chinese painting the “knowing of the way” is the first commitment to study of the natural environment that through careful and repeat observation of nature imprints the form of the subject in the heart of the artist.

This is followed by the “life drawing” where the student takes the form of the subject and through direct observation takes and typically shortly thereafter records the subject, from simple outlines of form progressing to further finer details then composition of the greater image.

Though rarely used as the composition for a finished work, the collections of these works collected by the artist from nature will form their materials used in producing larger complex pieces.

In comparison to impressionism and other art forms that paint real landscapes or forms for the finished piece, the ancient Chinese artists rarely painted directly, instead observing the nature of the plant until they could internalise the form then return home to finish painting from memory.

One of the most important reasons for this is the weight and number of tools required that made painting outside unfeasible, the use of flexible paper as a medium also confers some impracticality when compared to more rigid canvas oil painting aisles though some ancient artists did build observation and painting “studios” in the outdoors to match their dedication to the subject.

Through repeat practice and observation the student progresses to “临摹” or reference from form, where the composition of an established artists work, or in the modern age from a well composed and suitable photograph, is followed and repeated.

Though the outcome of such a painting would be deemed a copy in oil painting, due to the way in which Chinese free hand is painted – with no ability to correct deviations – students will adjust the flow of their own work to form a painting that is born from their own hand, forming a picture whose composition of elements is generally similar but also different and unique to the artist.

The final path of drawing is realisation of the plum blossom tree as a composition of strokes of painting, following the image of the form that has been internalized and projected into ones imagination then painting it out through the accumulated experience of brush strokes that produce the constituent parts.

Plum blossom painting techniques

Chinese paintings will often follow a rule of balancing opposite elements when constructed – vertical with horizontal, large with small, few with many and so on.

Though paintings forms are led by a central focus piece, this is balanced by harmonious contrasting aspects that serve to break up and complement what would otherwise be a composition overpowering and unnatural in nature.

Drawing plum blossom trees a typically large element such as a vertical branch will often by followed by an accompanying smaller branch in the same vertical frame, this pair of branches would then be followed by a pair of contrasting horizontal branches smaller in size.

The addition of flowers will have a principal flower group followed by a supporting flower group, detailed flowers fewer in number and focused on a single branch will be followed by more smaller flowers distributed over many branches.

This balance of contrasting and supporting elements continues throughout the composition finally creating a naturally balanced and recognizable look to the painting.

With spacing carefully left for bright blooms of flowers the older coarser branches of plum tree are drawn in heavier black inks and multiple reinforcing brush strokes followed by newer young branches painted with lively actioned single strokes.

Larger branches are painted elegantly curved though with stiff composition like metal, contributing greatly to the final form of the painting, smaller offshoot branches curve more and yet are smaller and segment like in their nature.

Flowers are painted from two ways – one way is a circular filled outline method which is common for larger clusters of flowers while a “follow the bone” technique of painting the petal with a single stroke then filling in detail is used by our artist and talked about in our blog here.

In the “follow bone” method a single stroke forms a petal with a wetted light goat hair brush daubed with either a single or dual colour being directly pressed to form the shape.

The curve of the petal is controlled by the angle the brush is pressed with against the paper, while care is taken to ensure the petals edges are distinct and firmer in tone than the petals centre, which should tend towards a lighter more transparent effect.

In the arts literature of our artist the cherry blossom flower is comprised of five petals, through five strokes the petals are formed around a central round gap which is then filled with the flowers stamen and pistil finally painted in using a fine black ink after the flowers petals have been drawn.

The three friends in cold weather

Together with bamboo and pine in Chinese art plum blossom is recognised as virtue against the cold, the first of all flowers and standing alone to declare to winter that spring has arrived.

Finding in it’s stand against the winter a reflection of the idealism to overcome and hold steadfast against unceasing challenges, the plum blossom has through the work of countless artists evolved into an emblem of virtue and beauty in traditional arts.

Traditional Chinese Painting – Birds

Background

In the dusky sky before sundown a flight of long tailed swallows darts back and forth above their haunt of weeping willow, their distinctive pointed tails and tips of wings tracing agile movements.

Besides the green waters of the lake a single kingfisher angles her long beak as she eyes a group of insects flitting above the steamy water surface.

Predating our history by millions of years these feathered animals have spectated ice-ages that have spanned western Europe, flown across seas that are now land and waded on clear shallow river banks where sun now bakes dry great dunes of yellow sand.

In traditional Chinese painting they have adorned the “bird and flower” painting series with their diverse forms of movement enriching and transforming works almost as if for their lack of presence the work would be incomplete.

A species arrived long before the first people started to record their environment through sketching and carving on medium of art, birds in many species and form have become one of the earliest and widely known styles of free hand “bird and flower” Chinese painting.

Birds in Chinese painting

Luckily to be frequented with many colourful and exotic species of bird, China of past and present is gifted with such beautiful species as yellow turtle dove perched on treetop, colourful hoopoe of mixed grassland and flights of pigeons of various colour and sort found among beautiful flowering tree.

Where Chinese painting is considered a artful representation of nature then just as important as learning the form and movement of the subject is studying how the subject is naturally connected to the scene.

Magpie perched among peach blossom or a flock of sparrow seeking nest for the night, matching the preferences of the species to it’s haunt and likely habitat or how it’s social habits are manifested in terms of grouping and form are common themes in painting literature.

Kingfishers are often draw poised on stem of water side lotus leaf naturally placing plant habitat and bird preference together while the famous mandarin duck swims in the shaded water below the great wide leaves.

Clutches of quail perched away from tree on rock and other low terrain feature suited to their limited flying nature, black crowned myna bird grouped together upon ample broadleaf tree matching their social preference to congregate in number.

Colours of work are also matched to the species of bird such as the striking white feathers of magpie set against white plum blossom flower while the gold throat of the yellow tit is sometimes seen matched to yellowing autumnal leaves.

Exotic birds such as the paradise flycatcher and it’s long elegant tail are given great reverence in traditional painting, perched upon white blossom tree the birds often appear as loving couples and more so a centre piece of the work than some smaller bird species.

Brilliant peacocks with their stunning decorated tail feathers, radiant colouring and head plume are likewise central parts of any picture wide enough to encompass their grandiose visage in these paintings flowering plants and leaf rather act as supplements of colour complimenting the greater composition of the picture.

Movement of birds in Chinese painting

Of diverse plumage and colouring, personality and habitat birds are numerous in species and with character that to each has it’s own special characteristic. It is these traits and personalities that are teased out through study and practice, matching the form of the bird to that which is painted with both arguably conveying a little of the traits of the painter who creates it.

In all Chinese painting forms the environment is captured with an essence of movement – perhaps the swifter stroke of the large free hand techniques deftly captures the movement of the moment while the smaller strokes of small free hand style delicately capture the small motions implicit to every detail of feather and wing.

Chinese texts state the bird is drawn as an amalgam of two circles of smaller head and larger body that join together to form a shape not dissimilar to an eggplant but based on the relative spatial position of the circles dynamically convey the posture of movement for the whole form – which varies considerably based on the present state and expected movement of the animal.

After the posture and movement of the bird are captured from the form of the body drawn from body to head, further locomotion cues are radiated out with wings expressing large amounts of dynamic motion followed by expressive tail then smaller suggestive legs.

On the ground perched inquisitively looking at the horizon or something in the scene – perhaps another bird – or intently looking at that below or even behind it the bird will often hold it’s wings close to it’s body.

When hopping along the ground the tail carries intention held upwards and while ready for flight it will fan out and downward.

In flight the bird exhibits great movement through it’s body form while wings open outward away from the body and legs tuck away underneath.

About to land the tail fans out as a wing while legs stretch out ready to grasp the ground and wings sweep back and out.

Specific details of birds in painting

Birds are an expressive and emotive animal who have evolved to take advantage of environmental niches that are specialised and fully encompass their world where their adaptions to the natural world over millions of years have shaped everything from their personalities to their body shapes.

When painting birds care is taken to convey the unique form of the bird that has come from it’s evolution.

Haw-finches that eat harder seeds and nuts have larger rounded beaks from rounded strong heads and expressive open eyes.

Some birds eat insects from tree leaves and foliage utilising sharp small beaks such as the great tit and sparrow both of whom have also have smaller heads while those that eat insects from grassland have wider flat bills such as hoopoe and kingfisher who conversely have longer sleeker heads shapes.

In Chinese painting bills and beaks are some of the finer details of the bird, stemming from the tip of the bill successively shorter curved lines first trace the mouth then upper and lower parts of the bill, though often captured closed some paintings do convey birds with open beaks – seen in flocks of bird in cacophony of chorus or a lone bird in song to a not so distant mate.

Expressive tails usually shorter in number of stroke required are often conversely matched to size of beak and head where longer plumes of feathers are associated to smaller bills and vice versa shorter tails with longer bills are more common.

Of our short article I have prepared several of our own artist’s presently available drawings of birds of which some are available in our own art gallery, though many more “bird and flower” scenes are searchable online covering great masters works both past and present of many forms of this beautiful animal species.

Though at first glance the works of Chinese painters free hand scenes may tend towards romantic with inspection of the accuracy to detail of how the bird is seen to be in the natural world these paintings can be considered a artistic portrait of the natural world capturing not just the beauty of a single animal but the interplay of it’s connection to the incredible world within which it lives.

Traditional Chinese Painting – Fish

Background

Perhaps proceeding the better known “Flower and Bird” scenes in Chinese traditional painting practices, drawings of fish acting as a precursor to this better known cultural art have been found in various historical finds in China dating back to the neolithic periods.

From paintings and carvings to jade pots and porcelains in the long history of Chinese culture have been found with various types of fish artwork.

In human history fish and fishing have an intimate connection as an important food source that connected ancient peoples to the land and sea and helped us flourish, in some historical texts fishing and proximity to bodies of water and shorelines have been identified with the migration of people from the great continent of Africa to the far reaches we have stretched to now.

Reflecting the world that they were so closely connected through the medium of art ancient peoples of Chinese culture better connected to perhaps what could be called “Sea and Fish” rather than “Flower and Bird” as more intimately connecting them to the natural world.

Though traditional Chinese Arts came much later than these neolithic times, the carving of character and the reflection of the natural world upon paper continues this traditional expression of natural reflection.

Types of Fish in Art

It’s very nature of continue movement floating, swimming, moving in some form continually expressed through movement of tail, fin and body this is an animal that is drawn moving and of a character of movement in order to draw it upon paper.

In Chinese Art the gold fish, black ink fish, red carp and cat fish are some of the more common types of fresh water fish portrayed in painting, these fish are often used as actual reference in drawing, studying their movements in a pond of tranquil place to help guide the principal direction of stroke to better place their movement when drawing.

Of the more commonly encountered salt water fish including the popular blade fish, puffer fish their nature tends towards being more active, though saltwater and brackish water types such as perch also have more energetic character.

Drawing Fish in Chinese Painting

The typical manner of fish drawing flows through three parts; from beak to gill as the head, from the area of the gill to the apex of the body as the body and from this apex to the tail or tails as the tail.

Through this process perhaps most critical is the movement, as the flow of the body carries the movement of the fish just as much as the tail, fins and other barbels and feelers.

Depending on the fish the colour mottling and patterning will be different as will the general flow and proportions of the body of the fish.

As “Flower and Bird” in equal importance is the capture of the scene through it’s foliage and bloom of flower and spacing of wood and bark though the water scenes of the habitat of fish these are sometimes replaced with the sub aqua environment of weed, pebble, lotus flower and other leaf and natural matter.

YAN Examples of Fish painting

Vibrant lovely colour and peaceful warming nature perhaps better defines our own resident artist’s collection of fish paintings. Of gold fish variety most abundant she has chosen warm colour tones and a peaceful feel to represent her work showcased here with this selection of drafts and the circular finished piece above.

The aqueous environment is one of freedom unrestrained in dimension and in our own artists and many Chinese work the forms of fish are oft portrayed liberated from a single plane of movement instead floating and poised in all manners of movement and position.

Movement in our own paintings is perhaps best seen from the large tail, it’s shape best defining the feel of movement, in many Chinese paintings the combination of a large tail best guides the viewer to appreciate the movement of the piece – aided by various fin and barbel which extend that movement across the body which itself is drawn to capture the movement of the fish.

Typically added last in painting is the eye and the spattering of marbled dots and skin textures which add final life to the fish.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this short piece see our Arts gallery and further Arts blog for other examples and reading.

Nephrite the gemstone

Made into beautiful figurines and adornments nephrite jade is a versatile and valuable gemstone found and traded since ancient times in China and across the globe.

Of a variety of colours nephrite jade is one of two forms of jade, the other being jadeite, though both forms are considered jade and worked and fashioned in similar ways they are two distinct minerals. Tougher though not harder than jadeite it is present in lighter white, red and brown colours though richer greens are considered rarer.

Nephrite jade is considered a sacred stone by the Maori in New Zealand where it is found on the South Island, traded extensively since ancient times this form of jade has been shaped into myriad forms from elephants to horses, pendants to beads over countless millennia. Ancient Chinese empires used this jade as barter in royal courts where evidence of jade carving has been found dating back thousands of years.

In Buddhist culture jade such as nephrite is seen widely across Asia, it’s precious lustre imbuing carvings of Buddha and sacred lotus flower emblems in the forms of pendants, rings and statue carvings of Buddha found in temples often surrounded and dressed with golden dress and attire.

Nephrite and YAN Jewellery

Of our YAN Jewellery selection we have a beautiful matching necklace and bracelet combination pairing rare red-orange garnet with a silky green nephrite jade stone. Yan has selected a high quality nephrite of a dark green colour poising a key centrepiece while brightened and lifted in lightness by the silver pieces adorned around.

Though hard to catch in the photographs our nephrite does project a green translucence under the right lighting while tending towards deeper tones otherwise.

One combination of this set is wearing the bracelet as a necklace, worn as two necklaces the set projects a richer and more notable character better for matching to clothing of stronger character.

Red colours matched to green are a popular combination in many manners of carved and worn jade design while materials, cloths and other jewellery that carry light such as gold, silver or lighter greens and reds are often found lifting the deeper rich palette of green nephrites.

Nephrite in Fashion

Our own photos showcase green clothing with a rich fabric showing off the green colour of the jade while the red garnet balances the colours out. Presenting a lovely rich tapestry of colour this set can also be set off against contrasting backgrounds while holding it’s own against dresses more rich in style.

In China nephrite is favoured shaped into bangles worn over the wrist and matched to elegant and flowy dresses and clothing which carries volume and flows.

Jade bangles are a popular high end fashion product in Asia, price being matched to reputability of the dealer and the colouring and purity of the jade. Worn everyday bangles though beautiful are very prone to breaking due their circular form and manner in which worn the Chinese however believe the wearing of jade confers protection to the wearer against misfortune and the breaking of a bangle or other jade jewellery is the jade saving the wearer from misfortune that would of otherwise have effected them.

For those worried over the higher risk of bangle breakage jade is also popular clad in silver as ring or as pendant necklaces which are less fragile in nature.

Popular throughout history across the world and into the present times jade as both nephrite and jadeite is a classic and eternal jewel as beautiful to the peoples of those rich and vibrant past cultures as it is to us now.