[mikehrz]

Having been inspired by this thread about a man's pearl bracelet, I set about making my own version of it (a considerably cheaper version). I asked Kevin from Pearls of Joy if he would sell me a clasp like the one pictured in the thread. He kindly agreed to give me one on the condition that a picture of the finished product be posted on the board. Pic coming up...

I had previously seen these lapis beads, but the price was a bit steep for me, so I decided to go with these beads instead. Kevin's idea in the pearl bracelet thread was to add black diamond rondelles. Obviously, diamonds were out of the question for me, but I found these rhinestone rondelles that were satisfactory.

With all the bits gathered, it was design time. I have rather skinny wrists, so the bracelet would need to be pretty short in comparison to what most men would wear. I experimented with a few ideas by stringing the beads on fishing line (go ahead and laugh; it was the best idea for a temporary stringing medium I could come up with). I decided to have a rondelle on each end near the clasp, as the clasp would be worn on top of the wrist (again, Kevin's idea), as well as 2 more in the body of the bracelet. Once I finalized the design, I sent it off to PearlParadise for stringing on black silk.

I'm quite happy with it overall, though the stringing made it a bit longer than I was expecting; no real surprise, considering I've never done anything like this before.

Big thanks to Kevin and Jeremy for their help!

[Caitlin]

Hi Mike
Good for you! That combination makes quite a nice bracelet.

I experimented with a few ideas by stringing the beads on fishing line

I am not laughing. My very first half dozen or so beading experiments back in the 60's were done on monofiliment line. On second thought I AM laughing, but with you.

[boo]

Hi, Mike

I think the bracelet looks great - I can totally see my brother wearing that, especially with a black shirt and jeans to pick up the denim color of the stones. (He is really the only one in the family with any fashion sense; whenever I have to make an impression somewhere, I make him come shopping with me.)

It strikes me more as kind of a negative-image Tahitian, rather than a poor-man's Tahitian: the reverse of black pearls with blue rondels (which I think would be an awesome color combo). Nice job!

[Kevin Canning]

ya nice job Mike, especially for your first attempt at anything like this!

I really like the way the rondells balance, have you had a chance to wear it out yet?

[mikehrz]

Originally Posted by PearlsOfJoy.com

I really like the way the rondells balance, have you had a chance to wear it out yet?

Just once. I'm going to PearlParadise tomorrow to get a real Tahitian bracelet, so this one might have to be relegated to "casual dress only" duty.

[jshepherd]

You seem to have a habit of booking when I am out of town! I am sure Kirsten will take good care of you though.

[Perle]

Hi Mike,

Congratulations on your first design project! Hope you'll post a picture of your new Tahitian, too!

Perle

[mikehrz]

You mean you're going to PearlParadise too? Cool. And, uh, yeah, I do. Isn't there a fable about a guy who had a big chunk of gold buried in his backyard and would dig it up just to look at it?

Originally Posted by jshepherd

You seem to have a habit of booking when I am out of town! I am sure Kirsten will take good care of you though.

Dude, you're always out of town . Better be careful, Kirsten could start her own company in your absence and steal your customer base, since most of them have probably never met you. I'm sure she's too loyal for that, though, right? (In fairness, Jeremy's only missed 2 out of my 3 appointments.)

Originally Posted by Perle

Hope you'll post a picture of your new Tahitian, too!

I think there's a line in Pride and Prejudice that goes, "That you could scarcely avoid."

[perlas]

Hi Mike,

Wow, a male beader! Congratulations on your bracelet. I hope to see your tahitian project, too. I hope you don't stop there. Black and brown tourmalines would look nice as well.