The earliest documented use of the abacus was China, circa 1200 C.E, but versions of the abacus were also thought to have been used in Ancient Greece, Rome, and Mesopotamia. Before the existence of written numbers, an abacus made it possible to count, add, and subtract. It was a simple tool, but extremely useful—taking something abstract and making it tangible.
This 14k gold charm is a working abacus. It is a larger charm, made by soldering jump rings onto bars within a rectangular frame. It is kinetic, with moving parts, and it has a nice, heavier weight to it that makes it great worn from a chain. A special feature of this charm is that when you hold this piece in your hand, you can roll the abacus beads back and forth between your fingers, which has a soothing effect--like a lucky charm.
It is marked as 14k gold and has an unidentified maker’s mark of a K inside of a U. It is 1 1/2” including the bail (1 1/4” without the bail) and 1/2” wide. It weighs 8.4 grams.
