Help with some info on this Asian Beaded Necklace with wood Carving

[postfiftymodern]

Firstly, I know VERY little about older Asian jewelry so bear with me here. 🙂

I would like to try to get some info on this beaded neckalce with carved wood "Buddha" type man..who is holding a rooster on his shoulder!

The beads are definitely some kind of stone. Do they look like marble? Jade? Agate? Quartz? The clasp is marked "925S" on back. The necklace is 32" long. The beads are graduated in sixe from 1/4" up to 5/8".

So my questions are:

Is there a name for this style of necklace?
Do you think it is new or perhaps older? It could be older or it could be some new beads bought at craft store and made yesterday, LOL I have no idea..

Any thought on what the beads are made of?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[oldasdirt2012]

Put the beads against your face if they are freezer cold then the beads are different colors of Jade which I suspect them to be. I dont have a clue to if the necklace has a name for the way its made.  Stamped 925 would make it recent the older ones I have seen said "Silver" for sterling. Sorry thats all I can give you.

[elvyyu]

If you google for Japan and rooster, you will get a lot of information on why roosters are important in Asian cultures.

The '925s' on the clasp is curious.  Uusually the 's' after the grade number means it is from Demark or Norway.  However, it could just be where the clasp is from, not the entire necklace. or it coiuld just be a replacement clasp..

Unfortunately I have no idea about the true age of the necklace or the beads.  My overall impression is that it's done in a fairly modern style, but no guarantees on that, lol!

[elvyyu]

As someone who has studied mineralogy, I get a bit testy by the idea that jade will register colder than other stones.  There is no scientific reason for this.  All it means is that the stone is a good heat conductor, but so are agates and other silicate types, among others..

Identification of stones by looking at a photo is alxs very dubious, though some are easier than others.  Testing the specific gravity is pretty well the only reliable method, and most of us don't have the skill or equipment for that. 

I will now go and have my morning coffee to improve my temper.

[oldasdirt2012]

As someone who did not study mineralogy useing only my senses will tell me if the stone is good  (freezer cold ) or glass because it warms up quickly. The Jade pieces seem colder to me. Its my perception not a mockery of minerals or any testing.

[postfiftymodern]

Thanks for the info Lea. I am in no way prepared to measure specific gravity. haha..but that would be something to look into.

There is a similar one listed on ebay. Well...the beads are different but the wood carving is VERY similar. I contacted the seller as they advertised it as

"Chinese-Asian-Natural-Green-White-Jade-Agate-Hand-Carve-Red-Wood-Buddha-Necklace". Thats it. No further description or information about the necklace aside from many photos. I contacted the seller in hopes of getting some more information. They replied but were not very forthcoming with specific answers regarding age or composition. This leads me to believe that perhaps mine is not "old" or "real" jade or the seller doesnt really know alot about what the are selling. 😉

[postfiftymodern]

Ok. Well the beads are definitely no Jade as far as I can tell. I just did a "scratch" test and they scratched very easily...which leads me to believe these may be made of different shades of soapstone