Brass Antique Heart Zircon Spacer

The heart shape came late to China and was learned faster than anything else. This is a thin disc with a ring of zircon around the edge and an antiqued face: the hollows dark, the raised outline polished back. The point hangs down, the two arcs above, and the shape is regular rather than the lopsided heart somebody pinched out by hand. The disc is very thin, and it takes up almost no room on the cord.

The symbol is not an old native pattern. It came from outside, and it came late, yet it settled so deeply that nobody asks where it came from any more. Traditional Chinese auspicious patterns work by sound and symbol: the bat, the gourd, the pomegranate, each with its own account. The heart is not part of that system. It relies on being direct, and one look tells you it is a heart, with no explanation needed. It arrived only a short while ago and only became common in modern times, coming in alongside letters and greeting cards, which is why it has no place in the old pattern repertoire and can only be counted as a newcomer among auspicious symbols.

An antique finish on a heart is an interesting pairing. The heart on its own is sweet, and the antiquing presses that sweetness down; the dark ground makes the outline a little harder and stops the piece sliding towards cute. The contrast works well at this size, especially on a man's string, where it does not look out of place at all. The point of the heart is polished brightest, as though a finger had touched it over and over, and that detail keeps it from looking like something from a gift shop.

The job of a disc is to protect the mouth of the main bead's hole, and that has nothing to do with its shape. A heart covers more area than a round disc, so it shields the hole, and it also leaves a mark on the beads more readily. Between two beads of low hardness, add a soft disc as well. With the point down, the contact area is at its smallest and the wear on the neighbouring bead at its lightest.

As a gift it suits a relationship that is already settled, and it is too light to carry a declaration. Clean with a dry cloth rather than soaking it: water gets into the antique hollows, dries slowly and leaves a white ring. If the ring of zircon works loose, put the piece away rather than wearing it. The edge is the thinnest part, and one knock leaves a notch, so do not store it loose with a set of keys.