This one-of-a-kind handcrafted Asian inspired necklace is designed with lapis lazuli and a mammoth ivory netsuke scrimshawed in blues and browns on both sides of the piece. The intense blue 12 mm lapis beads are combined with a gorgeous large hand blown glass bead as well as some glass lamp work beads to add interest to the necklace.

This vintage netsuke is the lucky god Ebisu who represents good fortune and bounty from the sea. He is holding a fish. He is the patron of fisherman and tradesman and symbolizes hard work and honesty. He is also the guardian of the kitchen. The netsuke is 2” tall by 1” wide. The necklace is finished with a 18k gold vermeil hook clasp.

The netsuke is a miniature carving, usually less than two inches high, created by Japanese and Chinese artists for over three hundred years. These carvings were traditionally used to prevent the cord attached to a gentleman's medicine box or tobacco pouch from slipping through the belt of his kimono. Today, they are highly collectible works of art. Often signed by the artist, they are getting harder to find as the detail in each piece takes patience and time.

Mammoth Ivory comes from the extinct mammoth elephant that roamed the Earth during the Pliocene era from around 4.8 million to 4,500 years ago. Because they are extinct they are not endangered and therefore, are legal and save the African elephant. The artisans that carved elephant ivory are now carving mammoth ivory that is recovered in Siberia.

The "sapphire" of classical times, lapis lazuli has always been a popular stone on account of its fine blue color. It is really a rock consisting of varying quantities of a blue mineral hauyne and calcite. Flecked with the gold of pyrite or calcite white, lapis was a favorite for jewelry of the ancient Egyptians. Since ancient times it has been used to make the artists' pigment ultramarine blue by grinding the stone into a fine powder. The stone is becoming increasingly rare and its price rises steadily. It now costs more than gold and is the only opaque stone, apart from turquoise, sold by the carat. The finest quality comes from Afghanistan, the lightest colored from Chile, and other varieties from Russia and China.

This high fashion necklace is a wearable piece of art with a collector's item, the netsuke, that you can showcase around your neck.

The necklace is 22" around including the lucky god netsuke (2 " tall).