Chalcedony waves

"I am pleased to offer you the chalcedony waves from my late mother."

- Princess Leia, to Nien Nunb

The chalcedony waves was the name of a precious necklace that belonged to the women of the House of Organa, the royal family of Alderaan. Queen Breha Organa owned that necklace at some point, before passing it down to her adopted daughter, Princess Leia Organa. Although Alderaan was destroyed by the Galactic Empire, the chalcedony waves survived the planet's disappearance, as the princess had been offworld herself. After the Alliance to Restore the Republic defeated the Empire over Yavin 4, Princess Leia Organa wore the chalcedony waves during a ceremony honoring the Alliance heroes of Yavin. Shortly thereafter, she offered the necklace to the Sullustan Nien Nunb, as a reward for his help evacuating Alderaanian survivors from Sullust.

Description
The chalcedony waves necklace was made of at least ten identical square pieces with a carved indentation running diagonally. All of them had a silvery finish. When worn, the chalcedony waves rested at the top of the collar bone, between its wearer's throat and her cleavage. The necklace came with a chunky cuff bracelet that matched the waves' style and color.

History
The chalcedony waves belonged to the women of the House of Organa, the royal family of the planet of Alderaan. It notably belonged to Queen Breha, who already ruled her homeworld around the time of the Clone Wars. The necklace was later passed down to the Queen's adopted daughter, Princess Leia Organa.

Nineteen years after the end of the Clone Wars, the tyrannical government known as the Galactic Empire used its brand new battle station, the Death Star, to blow up Alderaan. However, having been kept prisoner by the Empire, Princess Leia survived the destruction of her home planet, and so did the chalcedony waves.

The Alliance to Restore the Republic, whose members actively opposed the Galactic Empire, then launched an assault against the Death Star, destroying that planet-killing battle station in the orbit of Yavin. A ceremony honoring the Alliance heroes of Yavin took place, during which Princess Leia wore the chalcedony waves and awarded medals of valor.

Shortly after the award ceremony, Princess Leia set off on a mission to reunite the surviving Alderaanians who were scattered across the galaxy, and she took the chalcedony waves with her, among other personal effects. One of those pouches of Alderaanian survivors was located in an enclave on Sullust. However, a spy in princess's company revealed their presence on Sullust to the Empire, putting the Alderaanians' life in grave danger. Ultimately, the princess and her people managed to evacuate the enclave with the help of Nien Nunb, a Sullustan smuggler. Unable to reward Nunb with a precious medal, the princess decided to award him the chalcedony waves instead.

Behind the scenes
The chalcedony waves first appeared in the 1977 movie Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, the first installement in the original trilogy of Star Wars. It was worn by Princess Leia, played by actress Carrie Fisher, during the closing scene of the film. The name of the necklace was never spoken on-screen, but was referred to as "chalcedony waves" on page 219 of the Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novel. That name was later confirmed to be canon in the fourth issue of the Marvel comic book series Star Wars: Princess Leia.

The piece of jewelry that was used in A New Hope was designed by Björn Weckström, one of the most notorious jewelry designers in Finland. Originally, Star Wars creator George Lucas had requested an original piece of jewelry from Weckström. However, due to time constraints, Lucas had to resort to buying a ready piece of jewelry from the designer's catalogue. That necklace model is still available nowadays under the name of "Planetoid Valleys." Weckström's silver pieces like that necklace were inspired by the Finnish winter landscape with its frozen lake surfaces. Thanks to its appearance at the end of A New Hope, "Planetoid Valleys" became the all-time most well-known piece in the Lapponia Jewelry collection.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
 * Star Wars: Princess Leia, Part I
 * Star Wars: Princess Leia, Part IV