Brass Cloud Pattern Ruyi Lock Extension Chain

Brass is yellower than white copper and warmer in tone; it sits well with red cord and brown cord alike. Copper oxidises, and brass goes dark rather than bright, though a rub brings the shine back. Weight at the end of a chain has to be watched: too heavy a lock drags the whole necklace backwards, and with a fine chain that is very obvious. This lock is pressed from thin sheet, so it is light and hangs with just enough pull. Brass is harder than pure copper and holds its shape better.

An extension chain is a patch for necklaces and bracelets. The length falls short, the clasp will not reach, and a short section solves it. Here the section ends in a ruyi lock, not large, with a cloud pattern pressed into the face and the chain passing through both sides of the lock. The lock is free to move, so once it is on it finds its own hanging position. The links are split rings, which you can change yourself.

The ruyi lock takes its form from the longevity lock. In older times a silver lock was made for a child and hung at the neck, engraved with phrases such as long life and wealth, the idea being to lock the life in place. The ends of the lock are shaped as ruyi cloud heads, borrowing the auspicious pun in ruyi — as one wishes. The custom has circulated among ordinary families for a long time. It belongs to folk wishing, not to religious ritual. Lock shapes vary a great deal from region to region; the body alone comes round, square or with ruyi heads.

The cloud pattern is one of the most basic in Chinese ornament: a few curling lines, already present in embryo on Shang and Zhou bronzes, later everywhere on textiles, porcelain and buildings. On this chain the pattern is cut shallow — an outline rather than high relief, so from a distance it is only a ripple across the surface. Shallow has its advantages: it cannot catch thread and will not press a mark into the collarbone. The two curls of each cloud head are symmetrical; without that the whole thing looks crooked.

Two ways to use it. One is to attach it straight to the clasp ring of the existing chain; the other is to fit it mid-chain so the lock hangs down as a pendant. The first is more practical, the second better looking. Join it with a split ring, not a soldered one — a soldered ring loosens the first time it is bent open. If you would rather not do it yourself, ask us to fit the ring when you order and save yourself hunting for pliers at home. Before you hang it, hold it against the original chain and compare the colour.