A Moving Experience

“I don’t know about this necklace,” said Ariane.

I looked at it. Green African Trade beads, often called “Vaseline beads.” Nothing wrong with them. But what’s that copal doing here?

Moving, it turned out.

“People move it while I’m talking to them. They don’t even ask. They just adjust it. Very annoying,” said Ariane.

Now, copal has its place (see “Expect the Unexpected”: http://myjewelrydoctor.blogspot.com/2010/05/expect-unexpected.html). But not in this necklace.  

But wait! There’s more.

“This necklace is too heavy,” said Ariane.  

And it was rather heavy.

What to do? I thought of other jewelry Ariane had shown me. She liked neutral tones, and one piece in particular came to mind—a multistrand black and white necklace.  

“Kukui!” I thought.  

“Kukui?”

A seed from Hawaii (a nut, actually)—you often see a bunch of them on strands. But I think they’re more interesting when you isolate them. I’ve often made kukui pendants, with just a simple accent.

Drumroll, please.

And one of the kukui had a different pattern on each side. Presto! A reversible necklace.

But take a look at the silver in that wood necklace. Once it was cleaned up it was rather beautiful and became a focal point.

Ariane was very happy, and there has been no report of people trying to adjust her jewelry for her. 

“What about the copal and wood beads in the original necklaces?”

Not her colors, it turned out, but they may show up in a gift for someone. Stay tuned.