Five shells in gold-plated brass with 24K fine gold, and nestled in each one a mother-of-pearl bead set as if it were obvious. It is a bracelet that keeps something of the light of August, of salt on the skin and shells picked up between the fingertips. It is worn alone, very fine on the wrist, or layered against other chains.
A delicate piece of jewelry, like a summer memory you keep on your wrist until September.
Tools needed: flat-nose pliers, wire cutters, round-nose pliers, tape measure
Wrap the tape measure around your wrist, keeping it snug against the skin. Do not add any ease: the lobster clasp and extension chain will take care of that. Cut the engraved oval-link chain to this exact length with the wire cutters.
Thread a 3 mm mother-of-pearl bead onto a flat-head stud. Then add the shell pendant: the bead fits into the hollow of the shell. Cut the stem to about 8 mm above the pendant, then form a loop with the round-nose pliers. Repeat until you have five identical pendants.
Fold the chain in half to locate its center link. Open the loop of the first pendant with a sideways motion, slide it into that link, then close it. Count three links, then attach the next pendant to the fourth. Continue on both sides symmetrically until all five shells are in place.
Open a 3 x 2.4 mm oval ring with a sideways motion, pass it through the last link at one end and then through the clasp ring, and close it. At the other end, attach a second oval ring with 4 to 5 cm of extension chain in the same way.
For a perfectly fitted bracelet, measure your wrist with the tape measure snug against the skin, with no allowance. The lobster clasp and extension chain naturally provide the needed ease. It is the small precaution that avoids a bracelet that is too loose, the kind that twists and hides the shells under the wrist.
The assembly of the beads in the shells and the spacing on the chain, filmed step by step.
Replace the mother-of-pearl beads with amazonite: the blue-green wakes up the gold and gives the bracelet a crisper, even more summery look. The same assembly can also be made as a necklace, on a longer chain and with seven or nine shells. And worn in multiples, layered over a plain fine chain, it instantly takes on the look of vacation jewelry you never want to take off.
Mother-of-pearl — softness, calm, and connection to water.
To be reserved alone or with friends!
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