Description
Two rectangular obsidian plaques, polished on both faces, sold together. Each hangs from a braided black cord threaded with red beads engraved with motifs. A bare surface, a single accent of colour.
The plaque is deliberately smooth and carries no decoration at all. It is an old format in China, that of the jade tablet worn on the person, and its strength lies in the emptiness: a polished black surface with no motif draws the eye differently from a carving, because there is nothing to read. Both faces are polished, including the one against the skin, and all four edges are softened. The obsidian guide covers the material.
The red beads are engraved with scrolls and sold everywhere under the name cinnabar. Let us be clear: true cinnabar is a mercury sulfide, and its powder is toxic. What circulates in jewellery today, including here, is almost always a molded resin or colored lacquer, not the mineral. I cannot sell you a word I cannot verify, so these beads are described for what they are: engraved red beads.
A flat plaque raises a problem beads do not have: it always rubs on the same face. Against a shirt that does nothing; against a zipper or a strap buckle, the front face will pick up micro-scratches visible at a raking angle. They can be repolished. And since the two plaques are identical, they will not age at the same rate if only one is worn.
Crystal lore ties obsidian to grounding. None of that is proven, and no piece of jewellery heals anything. I have gathered separately what tradition attributes to obsidian, in the conditional from start to finish.
- Two plaques of genuine obsidian sold together, polished on both faces.
- Engraved red beads: not mineral cinnabar, but a resin or a lacquer.
- All four edges softened by hand: a sharp obsidian edge cuts.
- Adjustable braided black cords, no metal clasp.
What to know before you wear them
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The specifications
- Stone
- Black obsidian, volcanic glass
- Shape
- Rectangular plaques, polished both faces
- Dimensions
- About 45 x 30 mm / 1 3/4 x 1 1/4 in
- Red beads
- Engraved resin or lacquer, not mineral cinnabar
- Contents
- Two pendants
- Cord
- Braided black cord, adjustable length
- Gender
- Unisex
- Brand
- Bijoux Obsidienne
The red is not cinnabar, and you are better off knowing
The real trap of a plaque is not the polish, it is squareness. A rectangle whose sides are not exactly perpendicular shows the moment it hangs, because gravity sets it askew and the eye compares the edge to the vertical of the cord. Half a degree is enough. So the check is done hanging, never lying flat on the bench, and that is why I have a nail driven into a beam above the workstation.
These plaques are sold in pairs because they are cut in pairs, from the same slab, a few centimetres apart. Separating them would make no sense: it is the same stone, and two plaques from different slabs do not have exactly the same black. The other pendants are here.
Half a degree out of square shows the moment the plaque hangs. The check is done hanging, never lying flat.
Obsidian does not mind water, but the red resin beads dull with perfume and alcohol. Take the pendants off before you put on perfume. A soft cloth is enough, never an ultrasonic bath. Cleaning an obsidian piece covers the rest.
