Picture Jasper Necklace

This one-of-a-kind, handmade necklace features fantastic picture jasper pieces.

Price: $45.00

Picture jasper delights the wearer with its' endless variations - no two pieces are alike. This sterling silver necklace gives you the weight you want in your most important jewelry pieces. A unique sense of balance is struck between the jasper nuggets and the 40mm jasper medallion. A beautiful gift for someone special.

What is Picture Jasper?
Within the scientific community, there has been some debate as to whether Picture Jasper ought to be classified as Chalcedony or Chert. Chalcedony consists of many, many types of beautiful gem stones including Poppy Jasper, Green Jasper, Black Jasper, Onyx and Carnelian. Whether it should technically be known as Chalcedony or Chert, Picture Jasper is special. It is created when iron oxides seep into sandstone, creating patterns, markings and even designs that look like pictures of trees, plant and deserts. Like most jaspers, it has a hardness of 6-7 and is wonderfully suited to bead making.

Historical Use and Significance of Jasper
What do you see when you look at the unusual beads of this handcrafted Picture Jasper Necklace? Cream in your coffee? Petrified wood? The African veldt? Modern art? Every pair of eyes sees something different, and that's one of the qualities of Picture Jasper that makes it so remarkable to jewelry collectors.

Many of the world's great geologists began their careers as children, when some little stone in their own backyard caught their attention with its unusual pattern or color. It's safe to say that this is a tradition that dates back to ancient man's first fascination with rocks and gem stones. Jasper's history is well-documented by the jewelry that comes to us from times and civilizations long gone by. Biblical references to jasper include Revelation, XXI:19 where it as listed as making up the walls of the Heavenly City, and some Biblical scholars believe that jasper was one of the stones in Aaron's famous breastplate.

At a recent Christie's auction, a Roman gold and Red Jasper ring went for many thousands of dollars. The ring was engraved with a wonderful portrait of a man and woman facing one another, and this ring was just one of the many, many jasper jewelry pieces that survived the sack of Rome and made it all the way into the 21st century.

The ancient Egyptians were masters of the art of creating both jewelry and ceremonial pieces of gem stones, and their religious practices connected each stone with a specific deity. The antique healing art of chromotherapy attributed different medicinal powers to gem stones of various colors and even today, many seekers of answers to life's problems invest certain gem stones with magical properties. Not only do these sources claim that the pictures in Picture Jasper are a window onto landscapes of the past, but also that wearing Picture Jasper jewelry increases the wearer's sense of responsibility for the health of the earth and the environment.

Why Jasper Remains So Popular With Today's Jewelers
Not only is jasper an ideal subject for carving beads, cabochons and significant focal pieces for the delight of jewelry lovers, jewelers and gemologists take delight in the sheer variety afforded by all of the kinds of jasper available on today's market. Here is a short list of jasper gem stones you might like to learn more about, and to wear!

• Moukaite
• Poppy Jasper
• Green Jasper
• Red Malachite
• Leopardskin Jasper
• Impression Jasper
• Picture Jasper
• Tiger Jasper
• Dalmatian Jasper
• Ocean Jasper
• Silver Leaf Jasper
• Zebra Jasper
• Wild Horse Jasper
• Bloodstone Jasper
• Owyhee Jasper
• Rainforest Jasper

The above list is by no means complete. There are dozens of varieties to choose from, and each and every bead will be different when you choose jasper jewelry. Is there a special type of jasper that is close to your heart? Two Cat Studio's jewelers will gladly custom craft a jasper necklace, bracelet or pair of earrings for you from your favorite. Why not tell us about your jewelry wishes and let us show you what we can do!