Antique Victorian Whitby jet graduated faceted bead choker necklace, lovely large sized graduated beads, sterling silver clasp

Fabulous Whitby jet faceted bead necklace with large beads, graduated in size. The jet beads are hand faceted with triangular faced facets as is so common with Whitby jet beads.

The necklace has a length of about 22 inches and fastens with a sterling silver spring ring clasp that is stamped 'sterling'. The necklace weighs 51 grams overall.

The vintage condition is very good - so many Whitby jet beads have multiple cracks but these are not cracked at all. The quality of the jet must be excellent. The stringing seems original so the thread appears old with quite rustic knotting to the clasp.

Whitby Jet is organic and is naturally formed from fossilised wood from millions of years ago, commonly the wood of trees of the family Araucariaceae. The prehistoric wood gets washed up into a body of water and becomes covered by organic sediment. The pressure of the water and sediment over millions of years compacts the wood and slowly transforms it into what we know as Whitby Jet stone today.

Although most frequently found in seams of shale between Robin Hood's Bay and Boulby, Whitby Jet can also be discovered washed up on the shore when bad weather or rough seas occur where seams that extend under the sea have broken away.