Cubes & Orbs
Semi-precious stone beads of agate cubes and lemon quartz are mixed with red dragon wood beads in this 50 cm necklace that feels summery. For more info on the necklace, please click on Details, and if interested in my musings, please go to Story.
The identification of the beads start from the bead in the centre, moving upwards, with measurement for some of the bigger beads, with metal beads named last.
Length: 50 cm (20”)
Weight: 144 gms
Red dragon wood beads: 19 mm
Agate cubes: 13 mm
Lemon quartz: 16 mm
Pair of agate discs
Gold-plated silver spacers
Gold-filled crimp tubes
Gold-plated silver toggle clasp
I bought the beads in this necklace from three different places at three different times. I have had the delectable agate cubes in orange and creamy yellow for the longest time, and they came from my regular bead supplier Mr L, sometime in the ‘90s. I don’t see them around in this shape anymore, even though agate beads are quite plentiful. I acquired the sparky 16mm lemon quartz post-pandemic, during a trip to Bangkok. What is most interesting though are the big 19mm brown beige wooden beads with clear sepia lines around them. This was an unexpected find in 2015, when we were in Hong Kong, out for the day with my cousins, driving to Stanley, then Repulse Bay. Right there in the village of Stanley was this shop selling beautiful wooden beads with rather exotic names. I now regret not having bought more then, but they were quite expensive. The ones in this necklace are beads made from ‘red dragon wood’, a tree apparently native to Macaronesia and southwest Morocco.
I built a short necklace around the red dragon wood beads. Going for a different shape to contrast with the roundness of the wooden beads, I picked on the agate cubes in orange and creamy yellow. I then needed a bead that would feel ‘light’, and the glass-like transparent lemon quartz in 16 mm fitted the bill. Given the predominance of colours on the yellow spectrum, I went with gold-plated silver spacers. The overall feel of the necklace is summery and vivacious.
I am calling this necklace Cubes and Orbs. It would probably look best with crisp linen and cottons, in a range of fresh and pastel colours, but if you wish to be different, and wear it with darker colours, why not? Experiment and enjoy!
