The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac have been used to mark years for well over two thousand years, and the scheme is now familiar well beyond China. Each sign has its own set of traditional associations — the goat with gentleness and family, the horse with movement, and so on.
The pendant is nephrite jade, carved as the animal and polished. The figurine is cast brass, about five centimetres tall. The card describes the sign and its associations as they appear in Chinese sources, without predicting anything about the person receiving it.