IMPORTANT: This jewel is limited and we are unsure if they'll be available again in the future. We recommend Express Shipping with signature required upon delivery to best ensure it arrives safely in your hands. 

PLEASE NOTE : 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. 

Because these stones are limited, we are not able to accommodate any requests for specific purple preferences.

Our smallest offering of our beloved Medusa design yet : Twin snakes with smooth bodies and delicately detailed heads cradled an oval cut purple labradorite. This petite size makes it a perfect size to layer with other jewels in our collection. 

Medusa:

Ancient 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.

This 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.

Separated 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 became a protection talisman, 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.

Akin to the lightning bolt of destruction in The Tower, Medusa embodies this energy with her death gaze. Wearing these 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.

*Details* :

- 29 mm wide 

- 26 mm from top to bottom  

- Solid sterling silver: oxidized to achieve a stormy gray. Hand polished to reveal the luminous silver tones beneath.  

- Seen on Miguel on a 18 inch chain

- Set with one 13 x 18 oval Purple Labradorite gemstone

Purple Labradorite: 

Labradorite with a ‘full range’ of colors, including purple, has also been called ‘Spectrolite’ ~ though over the years these more colorful iterations have been given many other names depending on the range of colors captured in the specific cuts we’ve been able to source. Sometimes they are called ‘Sunset Labs’ for the way they appear to hold the melting colors of the setting sun - pinks and lavenders as well as even hints of flaming reds and deep purples, are all married within one stone. Other stones under the name ‘Belladonna’ (which is my personal nickname ) vary from the purples of wet oyster shells to the pale lavender of the petals of belladonna flowers - each stone is unique and carries within it its time underground - where under pressure, its glorious colors bloomed within. Interestingly, it’s light that enables its range of colors to be reveled - turning it in the light, while on the finger or in ones hand - creates a kind of ‘shapeshifting’ effect - the internal fractures and layers within the stone allow for different colors within the stone shift, flash, and to reveal themselves differently. 

Please keep in mind that these stones are ‘earth made’ and then each one is hand cut specifically for this setting. You will see the earth’s inclusions inside and outside each  - some of which I call ‘eye freckles’ or ‘witch hairs’ ~ ‘tiger stripes’ and ‘crystal glitter or mini galaxies’ these are associative names that I’ve assigned these ‘imperfections’ meaning to, that run alongside the scientific designations of what these inclusions are and why they occur ( perhaps more heat or pressure the stone was under  - apt metaphor for these times ? )  Nothing is imperfect to me. I see evidence of a jeweler’s or a stone cutter’s hand and I think of Rodin, and how his sculptures included the evidence of his hands - from a hundred plus years ago - and how that connects me and my team, to this lineage of hand-making, in a time when machinated ‘perfect’ work is becoming more and more normalized. I am trying to resist this idea of ‘perfection’, and I implore the same of you. These are all hand made, and earth made beautiful objects, so inherently, by today’s standards, they are ‘imperfect’ - because humans had their hands, and more importantly, their hearts on them.

Our available purple labradorite gemstones range in color from light grey purple, to deep purple. Some may also include shades of pink and orange. As we have a limited amount, specific preferences cannot be accommodated at this time. 

***IMPORTANT***

This jewel is handmade to order, just for you, with care and focus. Please allow approximately 6-8 weeks for creation before shipping.                   

Visit the Policy Page to make an educated and informed purchase HERE.

If you have further questions, we are always here to serve you in a kind and timely manner: via bloodmilkjewels@gmail.com