Description
A strand of round obsidian beads six millimeters across, closed by a gold lobster clasp extended by a small chain. The only color on the necklace is at the clasp, at the nape, where no one looks for it.
Six millimeters is the diameter that crosses the line between the necklace people notice and the necklace you wear. At eight, an obsidian strand becomes a piece in its own right and imposes its presence; at six, it slips under an open shirt collar and layers with another chain without adding bulk. The difference is two millimeters and it changes everything. The other necklaces are here.
The clasp is gold when everything else is black, and that is a debatable choice. The usual logic would call for a blackened, invisible clasp. But an invisible clasp is one you hunt for blind at the nape, and gold is as easy to find with the fingertips as with the eye in a mirror. The extension chain allows just over an inch of adjustment.
The reservation is the contrast of materials over the long run. Obsidian does not move, ever. The clasp is gold-plated brass, and its plating will wear where fingers pinch it open, in one to two years of daily wear. The necklace will stay intact, its clasp will age. It is replaceable, and I do it at no charge.
Crystal lore ties obsidian to grounding. None of that is proven, and no piece of jewelry heals anything. I have gathered separately what tradition attributes to obsidian, in the conditional from start to finish.
- Genuine black obsidian, round 6 mm beads, mirror polished.
- The diameter that goes under an open collar and layers with another chain.
- Gold lobster clasp and extension chain: just over an inch of adjustment.
- The clasp’s plating wears in one to two years; I replace it at no charge.
What to know before you wear it
 |  |  |
The specifications
- Stone
- Black obsidian, volcanic glass
- Bead diameter
- 6 mm
- Length
- About 16 1/2 in (42 cm), plus a 1 1/4 in chain
- Stringing
- Coated steel cable, gold lobster clasp
- Gender
- Women
- Brand
- Bijoux Obsidienne
A single touch of gold, and it is on the clasp
On a short strand, the number of beads is calculated from the neck and not from the stated length. A six-millimeter bead takes up a little more than six millimeters once strung, because you have to count the play of the thread between two beads, about two tenths. Over seventy beads that makes more than a centimeter of difference between the theoretical length and the real one, which is enough to make the necklace fall in the wrong place on the collarbone. So I always build a trial strand before cutting the cable.
This necklace exists because the catalog’s eight-millimeter strand layers with nothing. It is beautiful alone and cumbersome in twos. The six-millimeter accepts company, and many people wear several chains. Both are here and the obsidian guide explains the stone.
Two tenths of play per bead, seventy beads, and the necklace falls a centimeter lower than planned.
Obsidian does not mind water, but the clasp’s gold plating wears faster with soap and perfume. Take the necklace off before the shower. A soft cloth is enough, never an ultrasonic bath. Cleaning an obsidian piece covers the rest.
