Copper Tibetan Vintage Bracelet Spacer

In a Tibetan-style strand the colour scheme often depends not on the main beads but on the spacers between them. The main beads set the key and the spacers set the rhythm: red, yellow and white taking turns give the eye somewhere to rest. Used well, spacers give a plain strand visible layers. Tibetan strands favour symmetry, with the spacers on the left matching those on the right, and a single bead out of place is obvious. Some people break the symmetry on purpose with one piece on one side only; that is a personal habit rather than a rule.

This batch comes in four versions. The small spacers are made in yellow and white, with a small diameter, and are meant to fill the gap between two main beads. Wealth and Wellbeing and Attracting Wealth take their names from spoken good wishes; their patterns are more elaborate than the small spacers and stand higher in relief, and one is usually enough, set at the centre of the strand or below the Buddha head. The diameters are close enough that mixing them does not produce a step. The auspicious names were added later; the patterns themselves are the old ones.

Copper with a vintage finish, the dark sunk into the hollows and the raised passages left bright. The small spacers have narrow bores, so a thick cord will jam; 1.2 mm or under is safe. If a bore is not round the cord will fray, so run a toothpick through before stringing. The vintage colour runs from brown to black and varies from batch to batch.

Keep the number of spacers in a strand restrained. Three to five is the usual practice; more than that chops the main beads into fragments. On colour, dark main beads with brass spacers read warm and pale main beads with white copper read clean; mixing the two metals takes care and easily goes wrong. If the main beads are round, round spacers are the better match; if they are barrel-shaped, square ones sit properly. Once a strand carries more than three colours it starts to look busy, and holding back usually improves it.

Copper spacers brighten with wear, especially on the two faces rubbed by the main beads, where a bright ring appears. There is no need to polish that away; it is the trace of use. Lay the strand flat rather than hanging it up, since a cord under constant load slackens. If you use elastic, take a bore one size larger, or the rebound will grind at the hole. When you restring, take the spacers off and wipe them at the same time; over a few years it makes a noticeable difference.