Labor Of Love

I finished this bench bead necklace a couple of weeks ago and it was extremely satisfying and a lot of work! A lot goes into the fabrication of a single bead, let alone 70 beads. What can I tell you about this necklace? It’s beautiful. It’s heavy. Our Southwest Indians tend to make their bench beads out of as light a gauge of sterling as possible. Some of their beads actually will rip if polished on a buffing machine. I fabricated these beads out of 22gauge sterling silver sheet which is much heavier than a traditional bead necklace but it gives this piece a really gorgeous weight. I’m glad I didn’t skimp on metal. It measures just over 30 inches in length and features six different sizes of beads. I finished it with sterling cones and a heavy duty clasp.

As I said, I’ve always loved bench bead necklaces. I think they are heirloom in nature (though not all are created equal) and they transcend trends — there is a timelessness to these pieces. Now that I’ve made one from start to finish I have a new appreciation for all the bench bead necklaces I have looked at, handled and coveted over the years. What TREASURE!!! I am delighted to have joined in the ranks of silversmiths who have undertaken such a project and I can’t wait to make another. In fact, here’s to many more! What I appreciated most about this project is how ancient bead making is in the history of jewelry — beads are how adornment began! Some cave dweller found an object they thought was beautiful or they pulled a tooth or tusk off an animal they hunted and killed to eat and they said, “This is so pretty, I am going to tie it to this strip of leather or drill a hole in it and suspend it from a strand of hide, and hang it around my neck.” Et voila! Jewelry was born. As I made this piece I felt I was channeling all the silversmiths who came before me, but also something older and more ancient than that and maybe that something electric and pure and primal was in my fingertips as I worked. It all began with a single bead. This did, too.