{"product_id":"blue-lotus-openwork-necklace","title":"Blue Lotus Openwork Necklace","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe field behind the flower is pierced into a fish-scale lattice, which is the Chinese shorthand for water. So the lotus is coming up out of something instead of sitting on a blank ground. That lattice is also what lets the chalcedony show through from behind, and it is why the disc reads as pale and lit rather than as a solid slab of gold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe lotus comes up clean out of silted water. Not purity that was kept, but purity that had to be got through something.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe blue is not glass. Each petal carries fine striations running base to tip, with a soft sheen that shifts as the piece turns, and the colour graduates inside a single petal instead of sitting flat. That look belongs to diancui, the inlay work of Qing court jewellery, where blue was laid into gold cells and valued because it moved with the light in a way no flat pigment could manage. Every petal is worked separately, so no two pieces come out quite the same.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor anyone who wants colour at the throat and finds most Chinese jewellery too dark or too heavy.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt hangs on a box chain, the flat-linked kind, which tangles far less than a rope chain does. Deliberately short, so it sits at the collarbone and above a neckline, which means it works with a shirt or a dress and not under one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLooking after the inlay, plating and stone\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTreat the blue as the delicate part and keep it dry. No water, no perfume, no ultrasonic cleaner, and take it off before a shower or a swim. Keep it out of direct sunlight, which is what dulls colour of this kind over years. If it needs cleaning, a dry soft brush on the inlay and a dry cloth on the gold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGold plating wears at the points where it rubs, so keep it off abrasive surfaces and treat it as an occasion piece. Natural chalcedony, so the tone of the back disc shifts slightly piece to piece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Gold plated copper with natural white chalcedony and blue inlay\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eForm:\u003c\/strong\u003e Openwork disc, finished both faces, blue lotus one side and plain chalcedony the other\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMotif:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lotus over a fish-scale water lattice, with a bird and a gold orb in cloud scrolls\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eChain:\u003c\/strong\u003e 45cm \/ 18in\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNote:\u003c\/strong\u003e Inlay worked by hand, colour and shading vary piece to piece. Natural stone, tone varies. Plated finish, avoid abrasion. Keep dry\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Earth Tibet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52407250845998,"sku":"200000226:29;200000639:200661028","price":40.94,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/4807\/7102\/files\/enamel-lotus-plaque-necklace-4.webp?v=1786790933","url":"https:\/\/www.earthtibet.com\/products\/blue-lotus-openwork-necklace","provider":"Earth Tibet","version":"1.0","type":"link"}