IMPORTANT: This jewel is limited and we are unsure if they'll be available again in the future. We recommend Express Shipping with signature required upon delivery to best ensure it arrives safely in your hands. 

PLEASE NOTE : This necklace will be created with an 18" bar link chain. If you desire a different chain length, it's important that you email us immediately after placing your order. 

An oval cut onyx gemstone is cradled within a setting composed of life cast bat wing bones echoing a baroque mirror frame. 

Rich with meaning and metaphor, the Bat has conflicting reputations. Here, in America, it is associated with fear, death and the scarier aspects of the night. It appears in Vampire lore and in other gothic horror tales as something to be feared, especially in the supernatural sense. Yet in China, it has been revered as a symbol of good luck and prosperity since antiquity, appearing on furniture, clothing and jewelry. 

When I think of the Bat, I think of its amazing ability to “see” in the dark via echolocation. Known for their ability to do so whilst in flight, they are able to navigate the night while avoiding both other bats and elements of their terrain such as trees. Their lack of ability to see in the traditional sense makes for a wonderfully nuanced metaphor for being able to see with our other senses, such as our intuition, in times of anxiety, grief and during periods of other inky emotions. 

Akin to The Hanged Man tarot card, the Bat hangs upside down when resting / sleeping, curling its leathery wings over its body like a blanket. Just as The Hanged Man tarot card suggest seeing things from a different perspective, Bat can assist us to do the same, observing things with our intuition or in a ways we might not have thought of.  In a time when its easy to feel misunderstood / to misunderstand the intention of others due to the inability to perceive / be perceived with nuance, this jewel can be a reminder to observe and reflect from different perspectives. 

Bats:

Bats and their cast wing and leg bones have long been a component I’ve used in my visual library as a way of creating a personal visual language. As nocturnal creatures, I feel a kinship with their natural predilection for the night time hours, but I’m also interested in how they use sonar to ‘see’, how as a metaphor bats as liminal creatures also remind us to look closer with our other senses, a way of ‘seeing the unseen.’ It’s my hope and intention that pairing them with other chthonic imagery and myth further adds to the visual meaning I’m aiming for, creating a collage of personal ideas while also tethering these physical jeweled objects to the spirit of the bat ( and other natural objects in the case of other jewels in my collection ) and to the spirit of the myths I’m invoking.

*Details* :

- 20mm wide 

- 39mm from top to bottom  

- Solid sterling silver: oxidized to achieve a stormy gray. Hand polished to reveal the luminous silver tones beneath.  

- This listing is for one necklace set with one 13 x 18 mm Onyx gemstone

- Seen on Miguel on a 20 inch chain

Onyx:

Onyx is best known for being a natural stone that acts as a kind of 'psychic armor' against the negativity of others. It is also used to soothe grief and heartbreak. It is a wonderful grounding stone and a stone of self mastery, enabling its wearers to have mental and spiritual focus.

These jewels are hand cut and therefore may have very slight differences in size and may have small signs of the carver's hands along the edges. These are not fabricated by a machine, they are made by hand and therefore aren't uniformly perfect. The photographs accurately portray the quality of the stones and the cuts. 

***IMPORTANT***

This jewel is handmade to order, just for you, with care and focus. Please allow approximately 6-8 weeks for creation before shipping.                   

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If you have further questions, we are always here to serve you in a kind and timely manner: via bloodmilkjewels@gmail.com