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These necklaces not only look extremely chic, but subtly show one’s love of the gorgeous swords/men from Touken Ranbu

Since 2015, Touken Ranbu (literally “Wild Dance of the Swords”) has taken the Japanese app store by storm with over one million downloads and counting. In the collectable card browser game, the main character travels to the past and uses various swords, which are actually attractive men (naturally), to defeat the forces of evil. Developed by the same team that made Kantai Collection, this popular game has rejuvenated the love for Japanese swords, family crests and attractive men, drawn in the popular shojo-style aimed at girls.

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This newest collaboration between Touken Ranbu and Japanese jewelry company K.UNO combines ancient techniques and modern-day style cues to create fantastic necklaces and earrings. This gorgeous line of jewelry will tempt you to empty your wallets as each piece is made using actual Japanese sword-making techniques.

Tamahagane

With their tamahagane line, K.UNO uses the precious steel that has been historically used for swords called tamahagane. To make this steel, iron sand is heated in a clay tub to extremely high temperatures in a process that takes days to complete. The newly formed steel is then heated and folded over numerous times to create a lustrous sheen. Two styles of necklaces are available that are made with tamahagane.

▼ Tamahagane Kuroyaki – made with silver and steel for 16,800 yen (US$162).

▼ Tamahagane Hamon – made with silver, 24-karat gold and steel for 64,000 yen ($617).

Mokumegane

The second style of necklace uses a 400-year-old technique that makes metal resemble natural wood grain. Mokumegane is the product of several layers of different colored metals pressed together and then manipulated in a specific way to make the unique grains appear. Two styles of necklaces are also available using this technique.

▼ Mokumegane Shirakaba – made with platinum, 18-karat white gold, and silver for 64,000 yen ($617).

▼ Mokumegane Tsurikomi – made with platinum, 18-karat white gold, silver, and 24-karat gold for 220,000 yen ($2,121).

For any of these necklaces, the buyer can choose a unique family crest for the metal inlay. In total, there are 58 different crests to choose from, so the chances of you having a one-of-a-kind necklace are quite high!

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As an added bonus, there are necklaces and earrings that feature the character Konnosuke. The same exquisite attention to detail is paid for these pieces of jewelry, and they offer a few options to make sure not everyone will be wearing the same style.

▼ Necklace with a ruby OR a sapphire in silver for 15,000 yen ($145)

▼ Necklace with a ruby OR a sapphire in 18-karat yellow gold for 47,000 yen ($453)

▼ Earrings with one ruby AND one sapphire earring in silver for 19,800 yen ($191)

▼ Earrings with one ruby AND one sapphire earring in yellow gold for 68,000 yen ($656)

From a distance, it’d be hard to tell that these pieces of jewelry were inspired by a popular mobile game. Instead, they hold a remarkable story about historical Japanese sword crafting and the power of pretty men (or women) to renew people’s interests in a practice that could soon be forgotten.

Source: Nijimen
Images: Touken Ranbu x K.UNO