Due to the special nature of these jewels, they are only available for purchase one per person. 

IMPORTANT: This 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. This necklace is Ready To Ship and will leave the studio in 3 - 5 business days. 

Please note : 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. 

A life cast Crow claw forever grasps a Citrine sphere. 

Based on the image of the 'Ball and Claw' used throughout Victorian era furniture design, this is a reimagined take on our beloved 'The Messenger' necklace. The design's roots historically come from ancient China: in myth, the Emperor's Dragon guarded a pearl or a crystal ball that was considered to be a symbol of wisdom and purity. I've always had a fascination with crows. Born near the sea, I often enjoyed the presence of these birds; their dark, inky coloring, their ominous cawing heralding messages from the unseen, their seemingly otherworldliness; all of it was threaded through my childhood and early life. They are personal symbols of protection and comfort for me, and the highly tactile nature of both the textured claw and the smooth sphere help to ground me when I hold it in my palm or run my fingers over it. 

The Crow, akin to the Vulture, are opportunistic in their eating habits because they'll even eat from the dead. Partly because of this, they have been linked to the Underworld as as liminal, supernatural creatures, co-existing between the realm of the natural, living world, and the realm of the unseen, of the dead, ferrying messages to and from these earthly and spiritual planes. Considered tricksters in some cultures, they have also been proven to have a strong sense of memory, their remembrances extending as far as individual human faces that have wronged them, or who have fed them, as they are known to leave gifts to those who caretake them. This gift giving proves that we can be in relation to other, 'wild' creatures without bringing them inside our homes. Associated with prophecy and known to have to ability to foresee the future, their caws were known to be used in divination rituals. Lastly, within Alchemy, the image Crow is symbolized as the first stage of the transformative process or 'Nigredo'. This stage involved the blackening or cooking of the alchemical ingredients to begin the pathway to the final stage, or the Philosopher's Stone. Within Carl Jung's interpretation of Alchemy as an "Inner Alchemy", this first stage causes the individual to confront their Shadow Self, the start of a deep descent into a union of the conscious with the unconscious. 

*Details* :

- 55 mm from top to bottom

- Solid Sterling Silver  

- 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

- Set with one 19 mm Citrine 

This sphere is hand cut and therefore may have small signs of the carver's hands along the edges. This has not been fabricated by machine, it has been made by hand and therefore isn't uniformly perfect. The photograph accurately portrays the quality of the stone. 

***IMPORTANT***                  

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