Tiny Carved Pearl "Fairy Skulls"

Japanese artist Shinji Nakaba has been creating unique pieces of wearable art jewelry since 1974. Among our favorites are these exquisite hand carved pearls dubbed “Fairy Skulls”. Here’s a little about the process from the artist:

“I’ve experimented with different type of materials to carve out skulls but the ones I carved out of pearls are by far the best in terms of the durability. I also thought the contradiction between pristine pearls turning into these dark objects seemed even more appealing. I would call them Fairy Skulls. Only pearls can make my idea of ephemeral beauty into reality.”