{"product_id":"zodiac-circle-necklace","title":"The Zodiac Circle — Chinese Zodiac Necklace","description":"\u003cp\u003eTwelve animals in a fixed order, one to a year, repeating every twelve. Choose the one that was running the year you were born, and that is the piece we make.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe cycle is a way of counting before it is anything else. Chinese timekeeping used a twelve-part count — the earthly branches — for years, for months, and for the double hours of the day, and each branch carries an animal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe oldest surviving lists of animals against the branches are on bamboo and wooden slips buried in the third century BC, and they do not quite match the set we use. By the first century AD, in Wang Chong's \u003cem\u003eLunheng\u003c\/em\u003e, the twelve are exactly the twelve below, and they have not moved since.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is a well-known tale about a race across a river that settled the order, in which the rat rides over on the ox and jumps off at the bank. That is a story told about the cycle rather than the reason for it, and it is worth telling anyway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eThe one thing worth getting right\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe zodiac year does not begin on 1 January.\u003c\/strong\u003e It begins at Chinese New Year, which moves with the moon and falls somewhere between 21 January and 20 February. If you were born in January or the first half of February, your animal is very likely the one before yours on the list. Check the date of Chinese New Year for your birth year before you choose — the piece is made after you order it, and we make the one you picked.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2026 is a Horse year, from 17 February. It is a \u003cem\u003efire\u003c\/em\u003e horse year, which comes round once in sixty: the last was 1966 and the next is 2086.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eThe twelve\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach one below is the branch, its double hour, its fixed element, and the stone set into that pendant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRat\u003c\/strong\u003e — Zi 子, 23:00–01:00, water. Natural African opal. First in the cycle; carried for quickness and for starting.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOx\u003c\/strong\u003e — Chou 丑, 01:00–03:00, earth. Natural African opal. Carried for patience, and for work that takes as long as it takes.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTiger\u003c\/strong\u003e — Yin 寅, 03:00–05:00, wood. Natural African opal. The first month of the lunar year. Carried for nerve.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRabbit\u003c\/strong\u003e — Mao 卯, 05:00–07:00, wood. Natural African opal. Carried for soft strength, and for getting through a change.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDragon\u003c\/strong\u003e — Chen 辰, 07:00–09:00, earth. Natural African opal. The only one of the twelve nobody has ever seen.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSnake\u003c\/strong\u003e — Si 巳, 09:00–11:00, fire. Natural Swiss blue topaz. The animal that leaves a version of itself behind, on schedule.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHorse\u003c\/strong\u003e — Wu 午, 11:00–13:00, fire. Natural African opal. The branch that holds noon. Carried for direction.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGoat\u003c\/strong\u003e — Wei 未, 13:00–15:00, earth. Natural African opal with chrome diopside. Carried for quiet resistance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMonkey\u003c\/strong\u003e — Shen 申, 15:00–17:00, metal. Natural African opal. Carried for a quick mind.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRooster\u003c\/strong\u003e — You 酉, 17:00–19:00, metal. Natural amethyst. The one that announces the day before you can see it.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDog\u003c\/strong\u003e — Xu 戌, 19:00–21:00, earth. Natural garnet. Carried for trust, and for knowing where the line is.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePig\u003c\/strong\u003e — Hai 亥, 21:00–23:00, water. Natural African opal. Last in the cycle. Carried for plenty, and for taking it.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhat you are buying\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSolid 925 sterling silver. Gold plating on the animal and the mount, with blackened or rhodium finishes on the frame depending on the sign\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne natural stone per pendant, listed above — picked by hand for your order\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhite cubic zirconia accent stones — laboratory-made, not mined\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePendant roughly 25 mm across, on a box chain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMade to order, up to 20 days\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlating is a surface finish and it wears with time; the silver beneath it does not. We never plate base metal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e£189 at launch, £209 after.\u003c\/strong\u003e The same price whichever sign you choose.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCarried as a mark of when you started. Some people feel something when they put one on. Some don't. Either way it is an old idea, and it is accurately made.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Asi8","offers":[{"title":"Rat · 1960 1972 1984 1996 2008 2020","offer_id":49051129708714,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-01","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ox · 1961 1973 1985 1997 2009 2021","offer_id":49051129741482,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-02","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Tiger · 1962 1974 1986 1998 2010 2022","offer_id":49051129774250,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-03","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Rabbit · 1963 1975 1987 1999 2011 2023","offer_id":49051129807018,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-04","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Dragon · 1964 1976 1988 2000 2012 2024","offer_id":49051129839786,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-05","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Snake · 1965 1977 1989 2001 2013 2025","offer_id":49051129872554,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-06","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Horse · 1966 1978 1990 2002 2014 2026","offer_id":49051129905322,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-07","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Goat · 1967 1979 1991 2003 2015 2027","offer_id":49051129938090,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-08","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Monkey · 1968 1980 1992 2004 2016 2028","offer_id":49051129970858,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-09","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Rooster · 1969 1981 1993 2005 2017 2029","offer_id":49051130003626,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-10","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Dog · 1970 1982 1994 2006 2018 2030","offer_id":49051130036394,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-11","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Pig · 1971 1983 1995 2007 2019 2031","offer_id":49051130069162,"sku":"ASI8-ZOD-12","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0719\/3313\/2970\/files\/16-1.jpg?v=1786612304","url":"https:\/\/asieight.com\/products\/zodiac-circle-necklace","provider":"Asi8","version":"1.0","type":"link"}