Obsidian Dragons 🐉 Who are we?
Obsidian Dragons was born from a journey – that of Jeremy Guelle, a wandering gemologist, and Zhou Li, an artist and muse inspired by the spiritual traditions of Asia.
Together, they built a bridge between East and West, between the science of stones and the poetry of symbols.
Their workshop became a mineral sanctuary, where the breaths of the dragon, Taoist and Buddhist wisdom, and the raw beauty of matter intertwine.
Jeremy Guelle – Traveling Gemologist and Founder of Obsidian Dragons ✨
Halfway between the sacred mountains of Asia and the mineral shows in Europe, Jeremy Guelle has been building a path for over twenty years where gemology, craftsmanship, spirituality, and travel meet.
A qualified gemologist from the National Institute of Gemology in Paris, he dedicates a large part of his life to natural and precious stones: prospecting, selecting rare gems, observing materials, detecting imitations and counterfeits, gemological study, and writing expert reports.
Far from being confined to expert laboratories, he built himself in the field, in contact with minerals, artisans, merchants, cultures, and traditions surrounding them.
Now based in Wudang Shan, one of the historic strongholds of Taoism in China, Jeremy splits his time between Asia and Europe, where he regularly participates in shows dedicated to minerals, gems, and collectibles.
His journey has taken him from the collections of the Cernuschi Museum of Asian Arts in Paris to the mountains of northern Yunnan, in the heart of the Tibetan regions of Gyaltran.
At over 4,000 meters above sea level, he discovered and perfected the art of traditional Buddhist mala creation, while deepening his knowledge of Himalayan and Asian spiritual traditions.
This permanent dialogue between matter and traditions gradually became the heart of Obsidian Dragons.
🐉 The Birth of Obsidian Dragons
The name Obsidian Dragons is no coincidence.
It was born from the encounter of two symbols that have long accompanied Jeremy's journey.
Obsidian, volcanic glass born from the rapid cooling of lava, evokes depth, transformation, and introspection.
The dragon, omnipresent in Asian cultures, embodies vital power, movement, transformation, protection, and wisdom.
The union of these two forces gave birth to a universe at the crossroads of several worlds: gemology, craftsmanship, the history of religions, symbolism, and contemporary creation.
Obsidian Dragons was never conceived as a simple store for objects.
It is a space for selection, creation, and transmission where materials are as important as the stories, traditions, and symbols that accompany them.
The Celestial Eye Obsidian – The Spirit of the Dragon
Among all the materials that pass through the universe of Obsidian Dragons, Celestial Eye Obsidian holds a special place.
Its concentric iridescence, which can reveal green, purple, golden, or rainbow hues depending on the light, makes it one of the most spectacular obsidians.
Jeremy calls it "the Spirit of the Dragon."
It has gradually become one of Obsidian Dragons' symbolic signatures and accompanies many collaborations with artisans and master sculptors.
Crystal skulls, dragons, spheres, amulets, pendants, and sculpted objects thus become meeting points between natural material, artisanal work, and symbolic imagination.
💎 Gemological Expertise Above All
Behind the spiritual and aesthetic universe of Obsidian Dragons always remains the same requirement: to know the material offered.
In every stone, every piece of jewelry, or every sculpture, Jeremy seeks to identify the nature of the material, its origin when it can be determined, its characteristics, and any treatments or imitations it might be subjected to.
This gemologist training allows him to approach with caution a market where commercial names, treatments, and imitations are numerous.
Nephrite jade, quartz, obsidian, agate, turquoise, carnelian, fine stones, or organic materials are thus selected with the eye of a professional accustomed to observing, comparing, and questioning.
But this rigor never impedes poetry; on the contrary, it gives it a solid foundation. Because a stone does not need its history to be invented to be fascinating.
📿 Malas, Amulets, and Ritual Objects
Another essential part of Jeremy's work concerns the creation and selection of Buddhist malas, amulets, symbolic jewelry, and ritual objects.
His apprenticeship in the Tibetan regions of Yunnan allowed him to deepen the principles of mala construction, the role of its different beads, and the symbolic importance of the materials used.
Today, the malas created for Obsidian Dragons often combine several universes: precious woods, traditional seeds, jade, natural stones, silver, bronze, Buddhist or Taoist symbols.
The same approach guides the selection of amulets and ritual objects.
It is about understanding what the object represents, the tradition from which it comes, and how its iconography was built.
Phurbas, representations of Mahakala, Yamantaka, Acala, Avalokiteshvara, dragons, Bagua, or Taoist symbols are thus placed as much as possible in their historical and spiritual context.
⛰️ Wudang Shan, between Taoism and Creation
Jeremy's relocation to Wudang Shan has profoundly transformed Obsidian Dragons.
The Wudang Mountains are one of the great historical centers of Chinese Taoism, a territory of temples, mountains, mists, martial practices, and living philosophical traditions.
Living in Wudang Shan allows Jeremy to evolve daily in an environment where the relationship between man, nature, gesture, and time takes on a particular dimension.
This influence is increasingly reflected in the creations, photographs, texts, and visual identity of Obsidian Dragons.
It also nourishes a freer approach to Taoism, close to the fengliu spirit: fluidity, spontaneity, aesthetic sense, inner freedom, and attention to the present moment.
🌏 Between East and West
Jeremy now divides his work between China and Europe.
A large part of the year is dedicated to Asia: research, meetings with artisans, creative work, material selection, and development of new pieces.
Returning to Europe allows him to reconnect with mineral shows, collectors, clients, and the world of European gemology.
This dual life is an essential part of Obsidian Dragons.
It allows for the circulation of objects, but above all, stories, savoir-faire, and perspectives.
Between Wudang Shan and Europe, between laboratory and workshop, between ancient traditions and contemporary commerce, Obsidian Dragons has built itself as a bridge.
🖤 Another way to present stones and objects
Obsidian Dragons advocates an approach where the value of an object does not rely solely on its material or its price.
It can be found in its origin, in the artisan's gesture, in its iconography, in the time required for its creation, or in the story it tells.
This is why each significant piece is subject to thorough research and presentation work.
The descriptions deliberately blend gemology, mineralogy, history, spiritual traditions, and symbolism, distinguishing as much as possible what belongs to material reality, tradition, and interpretation.
Obsidian Dragons does not seek to oppose the rational and the symbolic.
A stone can be studied scientifically and continue to fuel the imagination.
A ritual object can be admired for its craftsmanship while being placed back into its history.
A dragon can be a sculpture and carry with it several millennia of culture.
It is precisely in this space that Obsidian Dragons is located.
🐉 Jeremy Guelle's Universe
The dragon is his emblem.
The crystal skull, an invitation to look beyond appearances.
Celestial Eye Obsidian, his Spirit of the Dragon.
Malas, the link between gesture, material, and practice.
And behind each of these objects remains the same quest: to find pieces capable of uniting material, craftsmanship, beauty, and meaning.
Obsidian Dragons was born from this quest.
A universe between gemology and spirituality, between Europe and Asia, between the precision of expertise and the freedom of imagination.
Welcome to the world of Obsidian Dragons.
✨ Zhou Li – Guardian of the Flow and Mistress of Details ✨
If Jeremy maps out the grand journey, Zhou Li, she weaves its invisible contours.
Assistant, head of expeditions, and designer at Obsidian Dragons, Zhou Li embodies the structuring, precise, and discreet breath that gives form to visions. She is the anchor stone of the China hub, without whom the universe of Obsidian Dragons could not fully materialize.
📦 From the heart of Wudang Shan, her birthplace, she supervises logistics with benevolent rigor, carefully oversees expeditions, and accompanies each creation until its departure, as one blesses a talisman before its journey.
🎨 As a designer, she works on balance, finesse, and symbolism. Her eye is one of functional beauty, silent harmony, and meaningful detail.
Zhou Li does not merely execute — she harmonizes, translates into the concrete organization of days, bringing structure, grace, and serenity to the apparent chaos of the creative world.
🌸 In the markets, she unearths rare materials.
✍️ In the workshop, she refines ideas, transforms intentions into pure lines.
🧘♀️ In her daily life, she embodies patience, delicacy, and presence.
💠 She is the project's yin balance — the calm strength, the precise gesture, the keeper of rhythms.
Without Zhou Li, there would be no bridge between ideas and their realization.
She is the one who makes elevation possible — discreet but essential, like water polishing stone.
