Mandarin Ducks

In Far East Asian culture, mandarin ducks are a symbol of love, happy marriage, and the union of a man and a woman. Therefore, items bearing their image are traditionally given as wedding gifts, as a good omen for the newlyweds. This necklace was custom-made as a gift for a future Chinese bride who was marrying a Polish man. Therefore, I used Baltic amber (with a fly inclusion) as the symbol of Poland, on which Mr. Duck stands, and green serpentinite for Mrs. Duck.

Serpentinite is classified by the Chinese as part of the “jade” family of minerals (precious jadeite, serpentinite, turquoise, jadeite). I witnessed this during my recent visit to the Chengdu Museum of Natural History, although Polish classification varies from theirs. Jade is highly valued in China as one of the most precious gemstones, and for many centuries, it was the only gemstone fit for an emperor, especially in its transparent, bottle-green form. Unfortunately, it’s not a common mineral in Europe, so obtaining it requires considerable effort. Pressured by time, I decided to use serpentinite, reassured by the presence of its translucent green form in the Natural History Museum, right next to the precious jadeite.

Mr. Duck has a diamond embedded in his wing (where the male mandarin duck has a white stripe), and gold leaf is melted onto his neck, tail, and head where the bird has orange feathers. Mrs. Duck has a blue sapphire embedded in her wing where the female mandarin duck has blue feathers.

Diamond (1.5 mm diameter), sapphire (2 mm diameter), spinel (1.25 mm diameter), amber with inclusion (approx. 1 cm diameter), serpentinite (1 cm diameter), gold flakes

Weight: 26 g

Dimensions: approx. 4.1 cm x 3.5 cm

925 silver

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