Nine-Palace Zodiac Amulet – Tibetan Tortoise Pendant in Fire-Gilded Silver
Rat - 1972 / 1984 / 1996 / 2008
$1,170.00
Skip to product information
Nine-Palace Zodiac Amulet – Tibetan Tortoise Pendant in Fire-Gilded Silver
$1,170.00
Free shipping · Duties paid · 30-day returns
Hand-carved S925 silver · 24K fire-gilded · Engraved under a 40× microscope
A solid S925 silver amulet in the shape of a tortoise, its shell divided into hexagonal plates around a fire-gilded crossed vajra. Red copper flames are cut through the rim; on the reverse sit a gilded nine-palace square, the eight trigrams and the twelve zodiac animals, yours picked out in 24K.
Final sale: your zodiac animal is fire-gilded for you before it ships, so this piece cannot be returned or exchanged unless it arrives faulty, damaged or not what you ordered.
Size & details
- Material
- S925 sterling silver, hand-carved and hand-engraved
- Gold
- 24K, fire-gilded on the vajra, nine-palace square, tail, your animal
- Accents
- Refined red copper flames, cut as openwork
- Size
- 51 × 36 × 11 mm (2.0 × 1.4 × 0.4 in)
- Weight
- 31 g / 1.1 oz
- Chain
- Approx. 65 cm / 25.6 in titanium bead chain, included
- Zodiac animal
- Your chosen animal is fire-gilded in 24K
- Construction
- Solid throughout, does not open
Design
Your zodiac animal
Whichever animal you choose, that one figure in the outer ring is fire-gilded for you, and no two pieces leave here the same. Please check your animal against the birth-year list before you order.
Among the many subjects in Buddhist art, the nine-palace amulet is a small one. Few people come looking for it. We knew that before we began, and we made it anyway — and we made it as though the whole world were waiting for it.
That is our position, stated as plainly as we know how. How many people want a subject has never been how we decide whether it is worth carving. We set out to make this one so well that there would be nothing in its category to put beside it. Everything below is the record of that attempt.
Three loops run along the top edge. Below them is a tortoise — not carved onto the piece, but the shape of the piece itself. The shell divides into hexagonal plates, and a fire-gilded crossed vajra sits at the centre of them. Refined red copper flames climb the whole rim in openwork, cut right through, so that light passes between them. Turn it over and there is a gilded nine-palace square, the eight trigrams around it, the twelve zodiac animals around those. The tail, at the bottom, is gold.
1. Why it is a tortoise. The shell is the oldest instrument we have for asking a question of something larger than ourselves. Three thousand years ago in China, diviners burned the underside of a turtle plastron and read the cracks. In Tibet, the entire astrological system — elements, trigrams, numbers, years — was drawn onto the belly of a cosmic tortoise. So the shape of this amulet is not a styling decision. It is where the diagram has always lived.
2. The guardian in the shell. A face is carved at the head of the piece, and the same face again along the sides; the gilded tail closes it at the back. In the old four-directional scheme the guardian of the north is a tortoise. We did not have to make a tortoise look like a sacred beast. We only had to carve the beast it already was.
3. The crossed vajra. At the centre of the shell, in fire-gilded gold, four vajra heads meet at right angles — the crossed vajra, the form that cannot be broken from any direction. It is the base on which things are built and the reason they stay standing. On this piece it is deliberately the simplest element: everything else is dense, and the vajra is allowed to be clear.
4. Three rings, one diagram. On the reverse, the gilded nine-palace square holds the centre. The eight trigrams ring it. The twelve zodiac animals ring those. Each band is carved smaller than the one inside it, and the outermost — twelve distinct animals, each recognisable at a glance on a surface 36 mm / 1.4 in wide — is the hardest engraving on the piece.
5. Flames cut through, not laid on. The refined red copper flames around the rim are openwork: carved through the body of the amulet so that daylight comes between them. Copper, gold and silver each keep to their own territory across 51 mm / 2 in, and none of the three is used to imitate another.
The Meaning
The eight trigrams are a statement about change. Heaven, earth, water, fire, mountain, lake, wind, thunder — eight conditions, and not one of them permanent. The nine palaces are the grid they move through. Lay the two together and what you hold is not a prediction. It is a picture of a world that was never going to hold still.
In Tibet this diagram is worn for exactly that reason. Not to learn what is coming, but to stand steady when it arrives. The ring of animals says which year you entered by. The trigrams say that no year stands still. The gilded square at the centre says that all of it is ordered — even on the days when the order is not visible to you.
And that is why your own animal is the one we gild. Of the twelve in that outer ring, one of them is you.
May the years turn as they will, and find you standing.
Find Your Animal
- Rat: 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
- Ox: 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
- Tiger: 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
- Rabbit: 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
- Dragon: 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
- Snake: 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
- Horse: 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
- Goat: 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
- Monkey: 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
- Rooster: 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
- Dog: 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030
- Pig: 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031
In the Tibetan reckoning the Goat is called the Sheep and the Rooster the Bird; the animals are the same.
Born in January or early February? The Tibetan and Chinese new year falls between late January and mid-February, so a birthday before it belongs to the previous animal. Check the new-year date for your year — you may belong to the animal before.
Materials & craft
S925 sterling silver, carved by hand. Gold accents are traditional 24K fire-gilding, bonded into the silver at around 900 °C, not plated. Stones are natural and called by their real names.
Every piece is designed and handmade in China and finished by hand under a 40× microscope. How fire-gilding works
Shipping & duties
Free tracked shipping to 47 countries, with all import duties and taxes paid by us. The total at checkout is the total you pay.
Orders ship in 1–3 business days (engraved pieces take about 3 more) and travel with YunExpress in 5–8 business days, so most arrive within about two weeks.
Returns & lifetime care
30-day returns from delivery, with no restocking fee. Ring sizes can be exchanged within 30 days. Engraved pieces, consecrated pieces and the Nine-Palace Zodiac Amulet are final sale unless they arrive faulty, damaged or not what you ordered.
Free lifetime care: send a piece back at any time and we will clean it, polish it and check every setting for free. You only pay the postage to us.
From the bench
How every piece is made
The gold on every piece goes through four stages, each one done by hand.
Swipe to follow each stage
01
Gold leaf, laid by hand
The gold is 24K leaf, thick enough to pick up with tweezers. It is laid onto the silver in small pieces, one section of the carving at a time, and pressed down with a burnisher.
02
Cut under a 40× microscope
Every line is cut with a hand graver. The finest parts, an eye, a whisker, the edge where gold meets silver, are worked under a 40× microscope, where a slip of a tenth of a millimetre would show.
03
Gold only where it belongs
The leaf is worked along each scroll until it follows the carving exactly. Gold goes only where the design asks for it. The rest of the silver is left bare, to be darkened later so the carving reads.
04
Fused by fire at 900°C
Then the torch. At around 900°C, below gold's melting point of 1063°C, the leaf bonds into the silver and becomes part of it. The heat is judged by eye, one area at a time: too cool and the gold lifts later, too hot and the carving underneath is lost.
Afterwards every gilded edge is cut again under the microscope. This is fire-gilding, not ordinary gold plating.
Free Tracked ShippingDuties and taxes paid, 47 countries
30-Day ReturnsFull refund, no restocking fee
Free Ring Size ExchangeWithin 30 days of delivery
Lifetime CareFree cleaning and polishing
Fire-Gilded by HandFinished under a 40× microscope
From the Journal
The story behind it
Frequently asked questions
How long does delivery take?
Every piece is held in stock and ships within 1–3 business days (engraved pieces need about 3 more). Delivery with YunExpress then takes 5–8 business days, so most orders arrive within about two weeks. We email your tracking number as soon as the package leaves us.
Will I have to pay import duties or taxes?
No. We pay import duties, taxes and customs fees for every country we ship to. The total at checkout is the total you pay. If a carrier ever asks you for duty, don't pay it; email us and we will settle it.
What is fire-gilding, and how is it different from gold plating?
Gold foil is fused into the sterling silver by heat at around 900°C, then every edge is re-cut by hand under a 40× microscope. The gold becomes part of the piece, a real weight of 24K gold rather than the thin film of ordinary gold plating, so it does not lift, flake or wear thin. More on fire-gilding
Why is the silver dark in places?
The dark recesses are oxidation, added on purpose so the carving reads clearly. It is not tarnish. A soft dry cloth on the raised surfaces is all the cleaning it needs; please don't use silver dip or polishing compound, which would strip the shading.
Can I return or exchange a piece?
Yes. Email us within 30 days of delivery and you can return a piece in the condition you received it for a full refund, with no restocking fee. Rings can be exchanged for another size within 30 days. Engraved pieces, consecrated pieces and the Nine-Palace Zodiac Amulet are final sale unless they arrive faulty, damaged or not what you ordered. Refund policy
How do I find my ring size?
Measure the finger you will wear it on, at the end of the day, and make sure the size clears your knuckle. Our ring size guide has a US size chart and two easy ways to measure at home.
Can I wear it in water?
It depends on the piece. Pieces set with natural stones should come off before swimming or bathing and be wiped dry after contact with water. Each product page lists its stones and its own care notes.
How can I pay?
Checkout is through PayPal, where you can pay with your PayPal balance or with a credit or debit card. Prices are in US dollars.