Precolumbian Greenstone and Silver Necklace

This is a fun necklace with charmingly rustic Precolumbian green stone disk beads, along with ancient quartz disks and my own granulated silver bead and charms.

One of the things I love about ancient beads is the way they show the hands of their long-ago makers, and the wear that they have acquired in the centuries since they were created. These sage green disk beads have both elements, with the cone-shaped holes typical of ancient drill work, wider on one side than the other, as well as a smooth patina of skin wear from all the people who treasured them before they came to me.

The white quartz disks I used as spacers also show the long life they have lived, and together with the green stone beads, they have a subdued beauty. I have combined them with one of my silver granulated beads, in a pattern that reminds me of a kaleidoscope, the complex patterns emerging from the layout shifting depending on what angle the bead is viewed from.

I’ve also accented this necklace with my textured silver ring charms. These charms add movement and interest, and also make a soft, ringing sound when their wearer moves. The word “charm” comes from the Latin root word for a song or verse, and also denotes enchantment or magical action through sound. In many ancient cultures, little bells and noisemakers are said to both ward off evil and draw in positive energies and entities such as faeries, “charming” them with the same pleasing sounds their music is said to make.