Antique Victorian Whitby jet graduated faceted bead choker necklace, lovely push-in bead box 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 choker length of about 16 inches and fastens with an antique jet and gold tone push in box clasp in the shape of a spherical bead. The vintage condition is very good - the jet beads have very few tiny cracks or crazing, so the jet quality is very good.

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.