{"product_id":"medusas-jewel-mother-of-pearl-necklace-1","title":"Medusa's Jewel. Mother of Pearl Necklace. * OOAK *","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIMPORTANT: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eThis listing is for a One of a Kind jewel that cannot be replaced. We recommend Express Shipping with signature required upon delivery to make sure it arrives safely into your hands.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis necklace is Ready To Ship and will leave the studio in 3 - 5 business days. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePLEASE NOTE:\u003c\/strong\u003e This necklace will be created with an 18\" bar link chain. If you desire a different chain length you must reach out to us immediately after placing your order for a custom quote on the additional length.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA tangle of snakes, representing the tresses of Medusa, encircle and protect a mother of pearl stone, which still protects its pearls. Appearing like dripping candle wax, the pearls are protected by the layers of iridescent shell material that makes Mother of Pearl so beautiful, and which is why its been used in jewelry for thousands of years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMedusa\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAncient Medusa lived a solitary, lonely life in a subterranean cave. Her ‘otherness’ was the nest of snakes atop her head: in earlier iterations, she was monstrously grotesque, but as time passed her features gave way to a stunning beauty beneath the hands of the artists who reimagined her.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis re-visioning marked her as one of the first ‘Femme Fatales’ of the cultural consciousness – a creature possessing the beauty of a woman and all the power that physical beauty bestows (seduction, sexual prowess) but also terrifying in her deeper powers of death. She embodies the tension between beauty and terror: one look from Medusa turned anything living into stone, though no women were recorded in Myth to have befallen this fate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSeparated from the body, the head of Medusa took on apotropaic qualities, appearing at the entryway of structures and homes to ward off evil and trespassers. In this way, the head of Medusa took on a protection role, frightening away energies and people intent on harm, contradicting the murderous qualities she possessed when fully embodied. Beheaded by Perseus as a trophy, even her blood held potent magical qualities: Pegasus was born from her severed neck and coral is said to be the hardened blood of the Medusa. Set in fine metal, coral also became apotropaic, often worn on the necks of children that extended past ancient times.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAkin to the lightning bolt of destruction in The Tower, Medusa embodies this energy with her death gaze. Wearing \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethese talismans brings this duality of nature to their wearer: her head as a symbol, became a protectionary talisman, while in life, she was a force of destruction, horror and death. The energy of both beauty and terror exists within us, much as the snake has the power of its deadly venom as well as the power to heal.  Beauty and Terror. Life and Death.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e*Details* :\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- 80 mm from top to bottom of drip\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- 45 mm at its widest\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- Solid Sterling Silver  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBoth pendant and chain are\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e hand oxidized to achieve our favorite shade of stormy gray and then highlighted to reveal the bright luminous silver beneath.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- Set with one 40 mm round Mother of Pearl and one 9 x 13 mm pear cut Mother of Pearl. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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 ‘nacre.’ 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\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eThis jewel is hand cut and therefore may have small signs of the carver's hands. As this has not been fabricated by a machine, it has been made by hand and therefore isn't uniformly perfect. The photographs accurately portray the quality of the stone. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e***IMPORTANT***\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\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":48619373166841,"sku":null,"price":1050.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0264\/9287\/files\/bm_product_202_0065_ef.jpg?v=1782930577","url":"https:\/\/www.bloodmilkjewels.com\/products\/medusas-jewel-mother-of-pearl-necklace-1","provider":"Blood Milk Jewels","version":"1.0","type":"link"}