Double Longevity Motif Dzi Bead with Bloodspots, 38.6×12.5mm, Pitch-Black Agate (V-092824-DLBS2)

Authenticity guaranteed — every piece hand-inspected and accurately described. All photos below are unretouched, taken against a plain white background to show this bead's true colour and condition.

The cream lines on this bead are not clean white — every one of them carries a warm honey-to-rust staining along the boundary where the cream meets the black, and that warmth runs the full length of the bead without interruption.

This is a genuine vintage Taiwan dzi, produced in the 1980s and finished in high-quality natural agate. The pitch-black ground is confirmed from flat-lit white-background photography across all four faces — a true black against which the cream motif lines read with strong contrast. The Double Longevity grid is broadly drawn on this piece, giving the cream lines more width than is typical, and the honey-to-rust boundary staining along every cream/dark edge is visible even at normal viewing distance — a warm, aged character that distinguishes this piece from the cleaner cream of the other longevity pieces in the collection. Both drilled end tips carry the characteristic warm brown tone at the tip where the stone meets the drill, consistent with agate's natural internal colour.

Surface finish is smooth and well-polished throughout, with the high gloss characteristic of quality 1980s Taiwan production. A minor surface mark is visible in the lower cream zone in one of the photos — disclosed here as found. No cracks are visible in any white-background photo; this is my own finding from the images. The drill channel is standard and cleanly executed at both ends.

Bloodspots

The macro photographs document cinnabar (硃砂, zhusha — mercuric sulfide) inclusions clearly throughout this bead. The inclusions present as fine orange-rust micro-dots scattered across the cream motif zones, consistent in colour and scale throughout both macro shots. Distribution pattern: cream-zone focused scattered. The boundary staining visible throughout the cream/dark interfaces in the wide-angle shots is consistent with the cinnabar accumulation pattern at these transition zones — the warm colour that gives this piece its distinctive aged character is part of the same inclusion story the macro documents up close.

The Double Longevity Motif

The Longevity motif — also known as the Tortoise Shell motif — is associated with health, long life, and the enduring vitality that the tortoise embodies in Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist tradition. A bead bearing the longevity design is traditionally worn or kept as an invocation of sustained wellbeing and protection from the circumstances that diminish it. The double composition means both major faces carry the full motif — and on this piece, the broadly drawn cream grid and its warm boundary staining give the design an unusually vivid, aged presence.

Spec Block

• Motif: Double Longevity (Tortoise Shell / 壽字)
• Length: 38.6mm
• Diameter: 12.5mm
• Form: Barrel
• Material: Agate
• Age Estimate: Vintage — produced in Taiwan, 1980s
• Condition: Good; minor surface mark in one cream zone; no cracks observed
• Bloodspots: Tier 3 — cream-zone focused scattered; cinnabar micro-dots documented throughout cream zones in macro photography; boundary staining visible throughout cream/dark interfaces
• Product ID: V-092824-DLBS2
• Collection: Vintage Dzi

For more vintage and new pieces, browse our New & Vintage Dzi Collection.

Its companion pieces: this bead is the third in a trio of vintage 1980s Taiwan Double Longevity pieces with Tier 3 cinnabar bloodspots. V-090924-DLBS is dark-dominant with narrower cream lines and cleaner cream zones — 34.8×12.4mm. V-092824-DLBS is cream-dominant with dark zones floating within a white field — the colour inverse of this piece — 34.9×12.6mm. This is the largest of the three at 38.6mm, with the broadest cream lines and the most pronounced boundary staining.

Curious about what dzi beads are and what makes them authentic? Read What Are Dzi Beads and What Makes a Dzi Bead Authentic.

The largest of three vintage Double Longevity pieces with Tier 3 bloodspots — distinguished by its broad cream grid, pitch-black ground, and warm honey-rust boundary staining running the full length of every motif line.

Every bead backed by our authenticity guarantee and easy returns.

All photos are unretouched. White-background shots show true colour; macro shots document bloodspot inclusions at close range.

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