KEEPERS OF THE JETT GEMS
So, it turns out there's a type of gemstone called 'jet'.
According to the Scout OS datacore (wikipedia):
Jet is a type of lignite, the lowest rank of coal, and is a gemstone.
It is derived from wood that has changed under extreme pressure.
Jet is either black or dark brown, but may contain pyrite inclusions which are of brassy colour and metallic luster.
The adjective "jet-black", meaning as dark a black as possible, derives from this material.
The above pic shows JETT gem 001 - Mother's Trigon, a 'JETT gem' made from a triangular chunk of jet, the gemstone.
This gemstone was sourced from Earth's Eurasian steppes, then sharpened and shaped by jewelry design outfit Jane Apothem.
To see more JETT gems, and hear about them, take a look below.
Top level info:
- These one-of-a-kind JETT gems were created by Jane Apothem, inspired by JETT.
- Jane Apothem is a jewelry design outfit, with a shop on Shopify and pics on Instagram.
- These first five JETT gems are destined for JETT Squad adjacent folks.
- For anyone eager to secure their own JETT gem, for themselves or as a gift, read below, then go get a sense for Jane Apothem, then get in touch with JA.
JETT gem 001 - "Mother's Trigon"
Creating "JETT gem - 001 Mother's Trigon" IRL seemed inevitable at a certain point.
As jewelry designer Jane (JA) from Jane Apothem relates:
I got into jewelry as a means of visual storytelling.
I was and am fascinated with the uniquely human history of creating wearable objects.
When JETT: The Far Shore came into my sphere of inspiration, it expanded my horizons.
As the JETT story was being told, I was compelled by the message and aesthetic. It resonated with me, and I wanted to create something in that space.
So we we talked about this, and there was this necklace in-game in JETT that I thought would be an interesting challenge to attempt to replicate.
Then, when we researched the gemstone 'jet', and actually managed to source a piece that fit the project, I couldn't resist.
I had the stone sent to where I live, and spent about a week staring at it, deciding on where and how to tackle shaping the stone precisely while preserving its most compelling features.
Finally I was able to see where to map out the shape, and over the course of a few days, shaped it by hand using a diamond file, stopping for frequent measurements to maintain the integrity of the stone and the balance and geometry of the trigon.
It was my first time working with jet stone, so I was mindfully cautious throughout, but got a feel for it quickly and was very pleased with the result.
Craig D. Adams at Superbrothers A/V said this:
I know nothing about jewelry or gems, but it has been super cool talking to JA about JETT, and then seeing what she dreams up.
The player encounters the Mother character in the first few moments of JETT: The Far Shore, and she wears this necklace. So, this necklaces's name had to be something like JETT gem 001 - "Mother's Trigon".
This gem is being kept here at Superbrothers A/V, in a place of honor.
JA at Jane Apothem:
Once I saw the finished trigon, I knew I couldn’t stop there. I wanted to create a series, so we went back and forth a bit, and here's what we came up with.
JETT gem 002 - Tor Shard
JETT gem 002 - "Tor Shard"
JA at Jane Apothem:
My logo is a hexagon, and I work with that shape often. I had one of these electroplated quartz crystals that I love working with, and showed it to Craig.
When he gave the go-ahead, I paired it with some smokey quartz, black frosted agate, and black/bronze/green freshwater pearls, spaced with tiny flecks of hematite.
I chose a bronze alloy chain to bring out the tone of the pearls.
The complementary textures of rough and smooth, visually translated to lustre and matte was as important to me as the geometry and palette for this piece.
C at Superbrothers A/V:
Inside the mantle of the volcano-like Tor in JETT: The Far shore there's a lot of prismatic hexagonal crystals, as one might expect in a science fiction thing, it's all very much in the style of this satisfyingly chunky thing.
This gem is being kept here at Superbrothers A/V as of now, until a new keeper comes to light.
JETT gems 003 - phosfiend (set)
JETT gem 003 - "Phosfiend (set)"
JA at Jane Apothem:
Early on I had sourced some red jasper pieces to suit a thematic element that was recurrent in JETT.
I wanted a geometric trifecta, so I suspended the trigon shape from a bold stainless steel ring and terminated it with a small hematite cube.
It was a simple design but has an impact, which is sometimes difficult to do.
It helped to have Craig’s editorial eye here.
The matching earrings are simpler still, which allows for the natural texture of the jasper to stand out.
C at Superbrothers A/V:
Phosfiends are these seemingly sentient electromagnetic atmospheric aberrations that lurk in JETT: The Far Shore's later episodes, they're a source of pink light and they have a bit of a trigon motif going on.
These pieces, with the little trigons and ring, are nice and simple.
This gem will be kept by a keeper in JETT's orbit, on Canada's west coast.
JETT gem 04 - Synth Mystic (set)
JETT gem 04 - "Synth Mystic (set)"
Jane Apothem:
I had sent Craig a sample piece I had made using rectangular prisms of dark blue sandstone, which up close has tiny shimmery flecks set in a deep, nearly black hue.
He liked the material, so we chose to create a bracelet and earring set, repeating the theme of threes, playing with complementing geometry of golden electroplated hematite chevrons and dyed agate rondelles.
The bracelet terminates with rough lava stone beads, which play against the smooth monolith of the sandstone.
C at Superbrothers A/V:
Synth mystic is the first character the player encounters in JETT, in a hutt on the steppes.
The synth mystic speaks in JETT's in-universe language, a language that ended up being carved out and created by sound designer and composer Priscilla Snow.
At JETT x MTL, when the JETT Squad was briefly together for some IRL hang-outs in Montreal, this gem was given to Priscilla Snow to keep.
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If you'd like to secure a JETT gem or something similar for yourself or for a loved one, you might like to go explore Jane Apothem's catalog on Shopify and get in touch.
JA is also somewhat on Twitter @janeapothem and @jettgems.