Tina's pebble bangle – a special birthday gift

Living in Cornwall I am of course surrounded by beaches full of gorgeous pebbles. They feature a fair bit in my work and I do love working with them. They are so varied; every single one is a one-off. However, making a pebble piece with special meaning adds the icing to the proverbial cake!

A bucket of pebbles!

Jack came to me and asked if I could make a bangle for his wife Tina, for her birthday. Of course, not a problem, it’s something I do regularly, but here’s the good bit; it wouldn’t just be any old pebble. He wanted it to be a pebble he picked himself from Sennen beach, where he asked Tina to marry him… How sweet is that?! Lucky lady! So after having gone out early one morning with the excuse of walking the dog, to go and pick the pebbles, Jack came and dropped off a bucket load (!) of pebbles for me to choose from, straight from the beach.

Making the bangle

It’s always hard to say exactly what the pebbles need to be like, to be suitable to drill and mount on a bangle, but I managed to find a few good ones amongst Jack’s pebble harvest! I drill pebbles with a rotary tool under water to keep the stones cool so I picked out a couple and drilled them carefully. The bangles I make are very simple, which is possibly why they are really popular. I love simplicity myself, which I think most people know! The 2 pebbles were then threaded onto a silver bangle I made from thick sterling silver stock that was soldered shut. The bangle was given a laid back, bright brushed finish that tones beautifully with the natural pebbles.

Jack wanted a few pictures of me making the bangle and I even did a very short video of the soldering of the bangle. It’s obviously a very simple process and one a jeweller does many, many times a day, but it’s always fun to watch a torch in action, so I thought I’d include it here for you to see!

The finished bangle and one happy lady

So, here’s the finished bangle on its own, and wrapped up to go! Jack was delighted with the result and this is what he sent me shortly after he gave it to Tina:

“Carin, thank you so much. You did a perfect job! Tina absolutely loved it!”

Another happy customer! I never tire of getting lovely feedback. And this is a great example of a very simple design, but one that carries special meaning to the wearer – and the gift giver!

Commission your own!

If you would like me to help make a beautiful gift for someone, or even yourself, then do get in touch and I would be very happy to discuss your project!

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