Black Jade & Sterling Silver Necklace | Door County Jewelry by Wendy Carpenter

Exclusive handmade gifts in Door County are soulful pieces perfect for every occasion.

These authentic jadeite gemstones, hand-cut and polished from jadeite roughs or slabs in the Motagua River Valley of Guatemala, carry a rich cultural significance. To the Pre-Columbian people of Mesoamerica, jadeite represented breath, life, fertility, and power, connecting you to a rich heritage.

The hand-cutting and polishing stonework is created through Wendy Carpenter's fair trade/skill-building mission project. Her "Creating Revenue through the Arts" project helps the artisans of Guatemala and the Mayan communities.

The featured jadeite necklace is handmade by Wendy Carpenter with (6) black faucet-cut beads, (6) round black beads, and (10) dark green round and oval jadeite beads. All the jadeite beads are hand-cut and polished. The 22 precious jadeite beads are linked together with sterling silver wire and clasp.

Article by "Fred C. Brendecke" about the unknown value of Guatemalan Jadeite: 

Guatemala's hotbed of tectonic activity has resulted in the formation of many varieties of jadeite. Nephrite does not exist in Guatemala, so in its place, the tourist market's jade is mainly serpentine or glass. Importation costs limit the available material for domestic stones, so when genuine jade is found, it is always jadeite. Generally speaking, there are a few ways to get jadeite in Guatemala: the tourist markets, the jade factories in Antigua, and the field in Coban or the Motagua River valley.

The factories in Antigua are the most reliable, with the highest-quality products and prices. When you find the real thing in the tourist markets, it often lacks luster and cut quality—appropriately set in average-quality jewelry pieces or carvings. Lapidary material availability is limited to the factories or finding on public land in the localities mentioned. Some factories won't sell slabs or roughs, and when they do, it is expensive.

Guatemala's national treasure is not well known currently. While Jadeite is highly prized in Asia, especially China, in Western regions such as the USA, genuine jade is frequently not recognized for its value. Outside of the antiquities market, whether rare nephrite or jadeite, westerners often overlook the stone's worth and authenticity and favor the designer label or precious metals the "green stone" is set in.

To contact the artist and support her work with Mayan communities, click here.