Keshi ChokerDecember 2017 Keshi pearls, diamond, sapphire, sterling silver My wife can a difficult woman to shop or design forshe has her own strong aesthetic, and she sees everything that leaves my bench so she has a high bar of expectation. One summer she accompanied me on a pearl buying expedition and fell in love with two styles of pearls she didn't know existed: baroque and keshi pearls. Since the keshi pearls fit better with my own maker aesthetic, I held

I bought some lavender waxed cotton cord

representing harmony

I also finally listened to my wife who said I didn't have to make her jewelry every single anniversary

given my own background in Chinese calligraphy

Czech glass beads

for bonus points

approximately 220 BCE

There are two materials considered traditional for the ninth wedding anniversary: terracotta and willow

is the leader of the pantheon of deities

The bending and skewing of this cross is symbolic of the trials she's been through and that she's sure to face in life

The first step of the transformation was to take the engagement pendant and cut away the excess metal to create a smaller washer that would transform into the appropriate size (this of course was done only after a lot of experimentation with copper blanks to make sure I had the correct size)

and the groom still hadn't found a ring that he liked despite going into dozens of jewelry stores