S925 Silver Floating Flower Jadeite Buddha Pendant

Floating flower is the name for colour drifting through a piece of jadeite like waterweed, or like ink spreading in water. Green flower is common; blue is rarer. The flower has to be alive — that is, it shifts with the light and changes depth. A dead flower is a smear of colour that does not move however you turn it. The flower in this piece leans blue, the threads are fine and spread out rather than bunched, which is what I like most about it. The trade also says that floating flower must not settle in dirt: the colour may scatter, but it must not land on cotton or fractures, because flower in a flawed place is dead.

Where the flower sits matters. A thread of colour across the face of a Buddha figure muddles the features, so good material is cut to push the flower onto the belly and shoulders. Here it falls mostly on the lower right of the belly and one side of the face is clean; the carving follows the direction of the colour, running the robe folds with it and hiding the flower inside a crease, which is a clever solution. Turn it over and there is a pale patch on the back too, which does not affect wearing.

The setting is a bezel with a fine raised line along the edge, pressed over the rim of the stone. A bezel protects the edge — a knock lands on silver first — but it covers a ring of material, so the stone can only be judged from the front. The bezel here is narrow and leaves a lot of stone showing, which is a middle course. It is made thin, so the pendant does not look clumsy at the neck. Four claws sit on the shoulder line and at the sides of the belly, their points turned inward, and no metal shows from the front.

The figure is on the small side, made to sit close to the neck. A collarbone-length chain puts the pendant at the centre of the collarbone; for a lower drop, add a section. Silver chain or leather cord both work — choose a fine cord, because a thick leather cord on a small figure looks like a stone tied on. It does not look out of place on a man either; a black cord is enough.

Jadeite does not need much in the way of maintenance. Wrap it in a soft cloth when it is off, do not leave it in a dry draught, and do not soak it in water. Take it off to shower: shampoo works into the seams of the setting and over time leaves a white film. The bezel darkening is normal, and one pass with a silver cloth brings it back; do not dip it in silver dip, which leaves the silver flat if used too often. This piece is not thick, so under heavy clothing it sinks into the fabric and only a thread of green shows.