This stately, highly detailed necklace features a hand-carved yak bone skull pendant, Tibetan prayer wheel beads, and crimson disc-shaped yak bone beads inlaid with turquoise and coral stone.

Skulls and skull imagery are a reoccurring image in Buddhism- particularly Tibetan. The skull, especially the human skull, is a universal symbol of death across all cultures, and Buddhism is not an exception to this. While this may seem surprising on the surface given the Zen nature of the religion, the skull serves to symbolize a deeper meaning in Buddhist beliefs than just a reminder of one's mortality.

In Buddhist belief, the skull looks past the simple mortal concept of death and serves to remind us of the concept of (anicca). Impermanence teaches us that nothing in life is permanent and we must come to accept that everything changes- including mortality itself.

Click to learn more about the ethicality of yak bone jewelry.