Antique Chinese QING Silver Bead Dangle Earrings,Vintage Carved Melon Black Onyx Bead, Vintage Jade Beads,Handmade Sterling Silver buy Ear Wires

Antique Chinese Qing Silver Bead (1644-1911 ), Vintage Black Onyx Carved Melon Round Black Onyx Bead, Vintage Nephrite Jade Beads ,Handmade Sterling Silver Ear Wires

A dramatic pair of earrings features 2 vintage stone beads from the 1980s in addition to an antique Chinese Qing silver bead for a dramatic dangling earring with rich deep colors.

These silver beads are approximately 3/8" x 1/2" and have a wonderful patina to them which is mimicked in the handmade elongated oxidized sterling silver french ear wires . The unique 'faceted' antique Qing Dynasty ( 1644-1911 ) silver alloy bead is quite unusual in both shape and simplicity from this time period.

◉ We found these antique beads during the mid 1980s in Hong Kong Central on Cat Street which is buy where many of the antique dealers reside. I was always searching for unusual antique Chinese beads when I was designing for the Sackler Gallery's museum shop here in Washington, D.C. ( the Smithsonian's Asian museum )
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The carved black onyx bead - known as a" melon twist " shape measures 1/2" in diameter. It provides a wonderful texture in combination with the angular lines of the antique Chinese silver bead. This carved melon bead was very characteristic of the 1970s-1980s in China and this bead was carved in Hong Kong during the early 1980s.

It is separated from the antique Chinese Qing silver bead by a Bali style ornate bead cap and a vintage 6mm nephrite jade bead sits at the very top for a bit of rich color.

The history of jade is about as long as the Chinese culture itself and stands for beauty, grace and purity. Jade is a family which consists of two different materials - nephrite and jadeite. China only knew of soft jade until jadeite was imported from Burma during the Qing dynasty (1271-1368) and jadeite is more valuable than nephrite.

These beads are in fact top A grade dark green nephrite that we purchased in Hong Kong during the early 1970's The polish is so superb
◉ All the stone beads which we imported back in the 1970s- 1980s - and which I use in all my designs - were precision cut in China with a uniform polish and perfectly round - the pride in workmanship was incredible back then - sadly the majority of the stone beads which are now being imported to this country come from India where the standards of cutting are no where near those of China over 30 years ago.◉

These earrings have been finished on handmade oxidized sterling silver bead ear wires to compliment the antique Chinese silver bead.

Total length of these earrings is approximately 2 " and they will arrive gift wrapped in a little box tied with a pretty ribbon all ready for gift giving.