Olive Jade & Sterling Silver Necklace | Door County Jewelry by Wendy Carpenter

  Exclusive handmade gifts in Door County are soulful pieces perfect for every occasion. The authentic jadeite gemstones are hand-cut and polished from jadeite roughs or slabs in the Motagua River Valley of Guatemala. To the Pre-Columbian people of Mesoamerica, jadeite represented breath, life, fertility, and power. The hand-cutting and polishing stonework is created through Wendy Carpenter's fair trade/skill-building mission project. Her "Creating Revenue through the Arts" project helps the artisans of Guatemala and the Mayan communities. The featured necklaces are handmade by Wendy Carpenter with lilac, black, and dark sage jadeite barrel-shaped beads. Each necklace has 16-21 hand-cut and polished jadeite beads, measuring 30" to 36" long. The jadeite beads are linked with a hand-crafted sterling silver chain and a gray Italian leather cord.  Article by "Fred C. Brendecke" about the unknown value of Guatemalan Jadeite:  Guatemala's hotbed of tectonic activity has resulted in the forma