A SUPERB JADEITE NECKLACE, clasp by Cartier

Details

A SUPERB JADEITE NECKLACE, clasp by Cartier

The one hundred and ninety-five vivid emerald green beads of glassy translucency, almost completely free of fissures and dark spots, elegantly strung as a triple swag on flexible diamond links, each designed as two triangular panels, pavé set with diamonds, each enhanced with a single baguette diamond at the border, joining to a double strand backchain, to the matching baguette diamond and pavé diamond clasp, clasps circa 1930

Beads 3.75 mm to 9.35 mm

According to the owner, the beads in the necklace were carefully selected from a number of various other necklaces, collected over a period of many years. This was necessary because beads cut from this type of glassy, intense green material usually contain the fissures and dark inclusions associated with roughs from the Burmese town of Kanti, or Ho Jiang

The mines of Kanti in mountainous North West Burma were famous from the early part of this century, producing a material that is of much stronger colour than that associated with jade from the older mines around Pakan in central Burma. Of an extremely saturated warm green tone, the colour is also characterised by its consistent brilliance in different coloured light sources, especially glourescent light.

The best material also displayed an exceptionally fine texture and medium to high "water content" which earned the appelation "su jiao zhong" or resinous or plastic texture. In the West, the combination os this texture and the intense green became known as "Imperial green"

Traditionally, stones from Kanti are thought to be small, not exceeding more than a few kilograms. They are also usually completely or mainly green. These merits are balanced against a tendency to have black spots and heavy fissures. A stone from a Far Eastern collector showing these characteristics is offered as lot .... in this sale. The nature of these stones meant that they were ideal for cutting small graduated strands of matinee length beads from 4 mm to 10 mm, which became fashionable in the Far East throughout the 1950's and 60's.

Today, the mines of Kanti are thought to be exhausted, slowly reclaimed by the Burmese jungle. Although it is not certain that the necklace offered comes from these mines, the appearance of a triple strand of such quality at auction marks a first which may never be repeated. Perfectly complimented by the elegance of the diamond Art Deco clasps by Cartier, it is at once an impressive and very refined piece of jewelelry

Lot Essay

The Four Most Valuable Bead Necklaces offered at Auction

The Mdivani Necklace, 27 beads, 15.4 mm to 19.2 mm: HK$33,020,000

The Present Strand, 195 beads, 3.75 mm to 9.35 mm:

A Jadeite Necklace of 107 beads, 4.4 mm to 11.15 mm: HK$13,200,000

A Single Strand of 99 beads, 5.1 mm to 11.2 mm : HK$ 8,380,000

US$2,000,000 - 2,500,000

More from MAGNIFICENT JADEITE JEWELLERY

View All

View All