Dark Horn Bracelet with Red Ring and Beast Head · 深色角珠·红环兽首

Description

The material

In shade these beads read black. Put a lamp behind them and they turn olive, amber and gold, with the growth banding visible straight through — that translucency is the point of the material and it does not photograph well, so the pictures under-sell it.

What it is for

The head at the end is a guardian motif, carved with the mouth open. In lore, guardians face outward from the wearer. It is a heavier, more masculine string than most of what we carry and it sells almost entirely to men.

Craftsman’s note

The red ring is the hardest part to source, not to make. It has to match the string in diameter within half a millimetre or the whole piece looks assembled from parts, which is exactly what most versions of this design look like.

Wearing and care

Fits 7 to 8 inch. Horn dislikes dry heat — do not leave it on a windowsill or near a radiator, which can craze the surface over a season. An occasional wipe with a barely oiled cloth keeps the depth.