Rare and unusual Clear Creek, CA Jadeite Bead Strands
We uncovered a small stash of these unique and rare jadeite beads while recently going through old boxes in our Rock Stop storeroom. Somewhere along the way they got sidelined. Wow. Were we excited to find these! The color and quality are out of this world! And, like all good jade finds, there's a story to the stones.
This first set of strands (above) are exquisite California Jadeite beads. Deep Gun Blue Green color with White crystalline accents. The tic-tac shaped beads are just over 1/2" long x 1/4" in diameter. Strands are 16" in length. Beautiful artisan quality crafting, smoothly polished and silky smooth to the touch.
The second set of jadeite strands are in a lustrous Gunmetal Gray. The round beads are approx. 6mm in diameter. The Strands are 16" in length. Again, beautifully crafted, smoothly polished, light-reflecting, with a silky feel to the skin.
The jadeite in these strands was directly sourced by hand from deposits that Hans Thern and I owned together in remote and wild Clear Creek, in the San Panoche Mountains of San Benito County, CA. Hans knew the subtleties of that particular landscape like the back of his hand. Unfortunately, Hans passed to the Big Jade Hunt in the sky last year on my birthday, March 31, 2022. We will miss his expertise and humor on future mining trips without him as our guide.
Like all of our California Jade, these jadeite beads were originally surfaced gathered, either by hand or with hand tools, in close harmony with and respect for our surroundings and Mother Nature, leaving the land they way we found it. They were then artisan-crafted into their present form of beautifully shaped beads, polished and smoothed, their exceptional natural color and luster fully revealed.
Rediscovering these bead strands brings back memories of good friends and shared outback adventures hunting jade in the remote and hidden canyons, hollows and river beds of California's marvelous mountain ranges. Each year's winter storms power the river's action and in turn the river transforms the landscape, mining the jade naturally, revealing hidden treasures awaiting discovery. With each adventure there is the prospect of finding exceptional stones such as these. We've had some strong rains this winter and we look forward to this year's jade excursions, and we wish you good fortune in yours.
Happy Hunting!
Sam
See these beads and more of our California Jade jewelry and stones collection on our Rock Stop e-store at https://rockstop.com/collections/california-jade
