Classical Necklace with Inlaid Beads from Nepal

It has led to some amazing art. Tibet and Nepal are next door neighbors high in the Himalayas. We have all seen the incredible sand drawings of intricate mandalas and the Thankas (spiritual wall hangings) that have been generated up there.

Now I'm offering you some of the metal work. These beads are probably new, or at least not very old. The pendant has certainly been worn, maybe even for a generation. To know I'm holding and crafting with an Om pendant that might be carrying all the experiences it went through in the life of a colorfully dressed native man or woman is a gem of a thought. Where did this this pendant go in its lifetime before it met me at sea level in the United States?

The craftsmen and artisans in Nepal are especially adept at the kind of (possibly permanent for generations) inlay work you see in the pendant. Though the colors and design are very Eastern, the work of inlay itself bears some resemblance to Native American work in the SW United States. The stones in the inlay work are genuine Tibetan turquoise and coral. The metal is brass. I believe there is a bit of silver in the pendant, but I don't know if it rises the the 925 standard of sterling silver. Nowadays in the United States we have to call this silver tone material zinc alloy. I like to add "lead free". When I first opened this shop two years ago it was called Tibetan Silver.

This necklace is between eighteen and nineteen inches. After months of thinking about my pendant and beads, I finally rose to the task of putting the beads in an order on the strand that really works, really looks good. Having such different pairs of beads was a challenge. It was a challenge I undertook with devotion.

Om is probably being chanted at this moment by millions of people. It is thought by some to be the sound of the music of the spheres. Medical people think it causes deep relaxation and is good for health.

I was once at a "mystical evening" with an actual Guru in San Francisco. I was a little nervous. I'd never gone to something like this. But the Indian Guru had the thirty of us assembled chanting Om for over forty five minutes and by the half hour mark, I could hear all the harmonies there are. It was a beautiful sound and I felt lifted away into the Music of the Spheres, a Western concept that I believe Milton wrote about. I experienced Kairos or eternal time and what the Guru called "Samadhi".

Om is what the pendant says. There must be a billion pendants in the world with Om on them. It is a beloved sound.

I listed a lot of necklaces I made with beads from Nepal in the first few months on Ruby Lane. The ones most resembling this piece sold fairly quickly. None had such a beautiful pendant.

The gold told spacer beads are 24K real gold plated Czech glass beads. They never dull or tarnish, and I've never seen a place where the gold paint has chipped off. They are a favorite material in my stash.

I finished off this work that was art before its pieces came to me with a gold filled clasp. When working with gold tone, it pleases me to know I'm using the best materials there are besides solid gold. It will explain to lookers why I charge more money for items that have incorporated precious metal. In every case I have had to pay a lot of money for it. I usually pass it on to customers below my cost.

Thanks for looking. This is truly a spiritual and special item. I won't be making any more like this for a while. With this necklace, I've almost depleted my beads from the Top of the World.

Item ID: 1309