Vintage Carved Green Stone (Jade) Laughing Buddha Pendant Necklace

Budai hangs from over twenty-four inches of oval green beads, each one separated by a hand-tied dark knot and nothing else. No metal. No hardware. Just stone and cord, the way this kind of piece has always been made. The stone is believed to be jade, and it behaves like jade. It holds cold against skin for nearly ten seconds before it slowly begins to give, and a steel blade finds nothing to bite into. The carving is good. The laughing figure is full and detailed, robes and hands and that broad open face all distinct and deliberate. This piece is believed to date from the mid-twentieth century, consistent in its construction and character with Chinese export jewelry of that era. The condition is very good.

River wore it against bare skin. The pendant settled at the center of her, cool and still, the little carved figure laughing quietly against her. She touched it once, just briefly, the way you touch something you are not quite ready to let go of. Then she let her hand fall away and left it where it was. The shoot ended. She was not in a hurry to take it off.