{"product_id":"an-end-to-sorrow-black-mother-of-pearl-necklace-limited","title":"An End to Sorrow. Black Mother of Pearl. Necklace. *Limited*","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIMPORTANT:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e This jewel is limited and we are unsure if they'll be available again in the future.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e We recommend Express Shipping with signature required upon delivery to best ensure it arrives safely in your hands. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePLEASE NOTE :\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e This necklace will be created with an 18\" bar link chain. If you desire a different chain length, it's important that you email us immediately after placing your order for a custom quote on the additional length.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eBecause these stones are limited, we are not able to accommodate any requests for specific stone preferences.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLily of the Valley (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eConvallaria majalis\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e) is an ancient plant native to the woodlands of the Northern hemisphere where it thrives under tree cover and shade. Akin to the woodland Bleeding Hearts that are also woodland flowers, these delicate yet poisonous blooms are also heralds of Spring, having been popularized in gardens by King Charles IX of France in the 1500’s after receiving a small sprig of the white bell shaped blooms as a good luck token. This led to the French holiday on May 1st, La Fête du Muguet, a time of celebration for the renewal of Spring and during which people give each other blooms as tokens of luck and love. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis led to the firmer establishment of Lily of the Valley in gardens, however, it already had ancient roots in the bible, appearing over 10 times, most famously in the Song of Songs. It is also considered to be the tears of Mary at the Cross and therefore is also called Our Lady’s Tears. In other tellings, they are the tears of Eve, split when having to leave the Garden of Eden. The way their delicate blooms bow to the earth does invite associations with tears, and perhaps due to this, they have been associated with sorrow and grief. As it’s historically tied to Mother Mary, this beautifully fragrant plant has been associated with Mothers ( \u0026amp; therefore Grandmothers ) and has been considered a plant of remembrance for them. Indeed, during my personal research, I came across many stories of people who had stories of it growing in their grandmother’s garden, or who transplanted the roots from maternal ancestral gardens to continue familial traditions of growing it. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOne of the more enchanting associations is with the fae. The small size of the blooms made for perfect tools for the small folk; it was believed they were used as cups or hats\/umbrellas while the stems were ladders into magical realms. Their ‘silent’ ringing bells called on the unseen world and the supernatural beings of the woodlands. Indeed, even Apollo’s Muses were treated to the beauty of these plants, as Apollo created them as protection and a soft landing for their feet as they traversed the woods.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUsed in mourning jewelry during the Victorian era as a symbol of renewal and hope, the Lily of the Valley has also been viewed as a balm for sadness and heartache. Carved in Whitby Jet or composed of seed pearls, the beautiful bells have symbolized the duality of beauty and pain, just as their nature expresses, as these plants are poisonous~ their red berries that appear after their blooms drop slow the heart rate if ingested and can be fatal to small children. Medicinally, it was used in the 16th century as a tonic for memory and clarity, stored in gold and silver vials and called Agua Aurea, or Golden Water. While it’s unlikely it helped with either, these associations underscore its memorial and funerary symbolism; memory and remembrance.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eIn the Victorian era’s popular The Language of Flowers Lily of the Valley represented a Return to Happiness. In this way, they represented not only good luck, protection ( due to its large leaves that provided cover for its small blooms), and love, but also a promise for a return to happier days, the promise that Spring arrives after the hardships of Winter. Just as the sun and the light returns, happiness, however fleeting, can return as well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBleeding Hearts:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe unusual and striking Bleeding Heart Flower (Lamprocapnos spectabilis) was originally native to the woodlands of Asia where it thrived in the early Spring light before the tree canopy leafed out. Brought to England in the 1800’s by plant hunters who were fascinated by its unique shape and bright color, the flowers became stars of the Victorian garden boom. There it became part of the language of flowers and was exchanged between those seeking to declare romantic intention, as well as becoming a symbol of enduring affection and undying love due to its shape and seasonal return.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite these more romantic associations, it was also associated with heartbreak and unrequited love, both due to the “bleeding” aspect of the flower and as well as folklore from Japan. This folklore tells a tale about a spurned prince who’s death after being rejected from a beautiful maiden caused the plant to grow in the spot where his blood had spilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Asia it was introduced to the US, which already had native variants of its own, including the pale white\/pink Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis), known to the indigenous people of Northern America. Used for skin aliments and to ease menstrual cramping, it was also considered food for the spirits by the the Onondaga, as well as a love charm to the Menominee.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReligious groups associated it with sacrifice and compassion, especially around Easter and Spring, when it returned in bloom; considering the “blood” of the flower to be the blood shed on the cross. There is also some history that a Jesuit priest may have first brought back the Asian Bleeding Heart in the 1700’s before it was popularized in Victorian gardens. This association makes me think of the symbolism of the Sacred Heart, the worship of the disembodied heart of a deity, wounded \u0026amp; bleeding, and yet radiant and strange.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInterestingly, despite and perhaps because of their beauty, all variants of Bleeding Heart flowers are poisonous to animals and humans alike, however are important for early pollinators such as bees who are able to crawl inside the opening of the heart. There’s something about this dualism that intrigues me, poison and love intermingling in a strange and beautiful flower that had originally grown hidden in the woods.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat I have loved most about it, aside from its Victorian associations, is its symbolism with heartbreak. To me they resemble heart shaped lockets overwhelmed and split open by grief, our heart’s blood spilling out ~ our sweetness and our sorrow caught in a single drop that hovers like a pendulum from the portals of our hearts, suspended forever like a lure for someone to collect. The hope that our hearts, no matter how wounded, can be mended, they we can remain tender and vulnerable to others and to the world’s marvels rather than tuck ourselves away in the deep forests of despair.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*Details* :\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- 48 mm from top to bottom\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- 87 mm wide\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Solid Sterling Silver  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- Both pendant and chain are hand oxidized to achieve our favorite shade of stormy gray and then highlighted to reveal the bright luminous silver beneath\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- Set with one 10 x 14 mm pear cut black mother of pearl\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Seen on Miguel on an 18 inch chain\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Last photo shows this necklace paired with our \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.bloodmilkjewels.com\/products\/the-blood-of-spring-black-mother-of-pearl-ring-limited\"\u003eBlood of Spring Bleeding Hearts Ring\u003c\/a\u003e and our Lily of the Valley \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.bloodmilkjewels.com\/products\/lily-of-the-valley-charm-bracelet\"\u003eCharm Bracelet \u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePearls\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHave an ancient history of reverence as well as a long legacy of beauty. Pearls are formed \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewhen an external irritant, like a grain of sand, breaches the shell of an oyster or shelled mollusk. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOnce this irritant has gained entrance within the dark fleshy confines of the oyster, it goes to work \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eprotecting itself. If this irritant can’t be expelled, it begins to ‘bandage’ the grain, coating it with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003econcentric rings of calcium carbonate, named ‘narce.’ Each layer that is built up forms the shape of t\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ehe pearl, awash in a brilliant iridescence, a beauty born of a tiny trespass. Thusly, a pearl has at its \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecenter, the object of its creation, a foreign intruder.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI associate the pearl and its strange construction to so many things: the jellied caterpillar struggling \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewithin a chrysalis, its liquefied body form a new winged shape. An embedded star smoldering within \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethe shell of our hearts. An ink dot, a pin prick, a moon in miniature. History, who has always loved \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand revered the pearl, writes that we once believed pearls were the result of lightning striking the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eshell and penetrating the inner skins of the oyster. A small beauty made in duress, a ‘stone’ of initiation. To \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003epossess a pearl means to own something that is hidden, sacred.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLore has it that Cleopatra, to win a wager with Antony, dissolved a large, exquisite pearl in her \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003edrinking glass. She swallowed it in one sip. I wonder about her dreams that night.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlack mother of pearl ranges in color but traditionally they are dark in color with an iridescence that may include shades of pink, blue, green, and brown when turned in the light.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eThis jewel is hand cut and therefore may have small signs of the carver's hands along the edges. It has not been fabricated by a machine rather it hand cut and therefore might not be uniformly perfect. The photographs accurately portray the quality of the stone and the cut. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e***IMPORTANT***\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis jewel is handmade to order, just for you, with care and focus. Please allow approximately 6 - 8 weeks for creation before shipping.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVisit the Policy Page to make an educated and informed purchase \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bloodmilkjewels.com\/pages\/policy\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHERE\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIf you have further questions, we are always here to serve you in a kind and timely manner: via info@bloodmilkjewels.com\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blood Milk Jewels","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48479913312505,"sku":null,"price":600.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0264\/9287\/files\/bm_product_199_0006_ef_9f98aa0a-0bc8-4dbb-babc-07d620272a43.jpg?v=1780500927","url":"https:\/\/www.bloodmilkjewels.com\/products\/an-end-to-sorrow-black-mother-of-pearl-necklace-limited","provider":"Blood Milk Jewels","version":"1.0","type":"link"}