Diamond-Shaped Cinnabar and Onyx Bead Necklace

Carved diamond-shaped cinnabar beads  with black onyx beads  and gold-plated spacers and adjustable chain with  lobster claw  closure.  Cinnabar beads measure approximately 3/4" wide. Necklace  measures approximately 18".

Cinnabar is a mineral substance once used by the Taoist philosophers to create "The Elixir of Life", a magical potion for longevity. It was also believed that cinnabar was capable of transmutation, becoming a different precious mineral every 200 years and ultimately changing into gold after 1000 years. These beads have carved wooden cores that have been coated with many layers of cinnabar lacquer.