14K Gold Carved Jade Gourd Earrings - Apple Green Drops

Carved Jade Gourd Earrings - Apple Green on a Polished Gold Ball

A plain polished gold ball sits at the lobe, a single jump ring below it, and from that hangs a gourd carved from natural jade, 20 x 10mm. The fruit is cut in the round with its waisted double-lobed shape intact, a broad leaf laid diagonally across the body with its veining incised, and a vine tendril curling at the base. The colour is apple green, translucent enough that the thinner edges glow when the light is behind them. The pair weighs 3.16 grams in 14k solid gold.

Carving jade is slow work, and the gourd is a demanding subject for it. The stone is too tough to cut cleanly - it has to be ground away with abrasive, which is why carved jade has soft rounded edges rather than crisp ones - and a gourd asks the carver to hold a smooth swelling curve across the whole body while cutting a leaf and a tendril in relief on top of it, with no room to correct a slip. The mount is deliberately silent by comparison: a plain gold ball and one ring, so nothing competes with the stone.

FAQs

1. What is carved into the jade?
A gourd - the waisted, double-lobed bottle gourd - with a broad leaf laid across the body and a vine tendril curling at the base. It is carved in the round rather than in flat relief, so the shape reads from every angle.

2. What does the gourd mean?
Blessing and prosperity, a full family, and protection. Its Chinese name sounds like the words for blessing and rank, it is full of seeds, and it was the vessel medicine was carried in - three separate reasons the shape became lucky.

3. Why is carved jade more expensive than a plain cabochon?
Because jade cannot be cut - it is far too tough to cleave, so every line has to be ground away with abrasive on a wheel. A carved gourd represents hours of work that a polished dome does not, and that labour has always been the larger part of the price.

4. How big are they on the ear?
The jade is 20mm long by 10mm wide, hanging just below a small gold ball. Long enough to read clearly, short enough not to catch on a collar.

5. How should carved jade be cared for?
Gently, and with attention to the recesses. Warm soapy water and a soft brush worked into the leaf and the tendril where skin oil collects, then dried fully. Jade is exceptionally tough against knocks but softer than quartz against scratching, so store it away from harder stones. Full routine on our Jade Care Card, and the gold hallmark guide explains the 585 stamp.

How to Style the Carved Jade Gourds

These carry enough green to be the only colour you wear, so keep the rest quiet - a plain chain, a thin band, nothing patterned. Hair up shows the whole drop. Explore the wider 14k and 18k Gold collection, see more Earrings, or visit JewelBuild™ to plan a set around them.