White Copper Ziwei Talisman Tag Geometric Pendant

People buying this kind of tablet often get stuck on the fittings. The tablet itself is decided at a glance, but cord or chain, box or no box, can take ages to settle. Each of the four pairings has its own use: the tablet alone for someone who already has a cord, the sandalwood cloud cord as the standard pairing, the Chopin chain for a cleaner line, and the floating box for a gift. Regret over the wrong fitting usually lasts longer than regret over the wrong tablet. Cord length adjusts and chain length does not, and that is worth deciding first.

The Ziwei taboo character is cut into the face with its strokes filling the space and only a narrow border left around it. Too wide a border looks empty; too narrow and the edge may chip. The structure of the character is stacked: a rain radical pressing down from the top, the middle drawn in, an ear element supporting at the base, so that the centre of gravity sits low. The graver follows the vertical strokes first and the horizontals are added after, which lets the character stand up instead of collapsing into a blob. The character has many strokes, and cut into a square inch, one slip of the tool cannot be recovered.

The tablet shape takes the geometric route: four straight sides, four corners slightly rounded, an even thickness. The advantage of a geometric shape is that it does not compete with the character, and the eye falls naturally to the centre. The disadvantage is that it demands symmetry: half a millimetre of difference between the four sides and anyone can see it hanging crooked at the chest. So tablets like this go over a surface plate after finishing, laid face down, to check for warp. Evenness of thickness is best judged at the edge; one pass of the finger tells you.

The sandalwood cloud cord is dark, leaning red-brown, and against the cold white of copper it is one deep tone against one bright one. The cord adjusts and lies close to the neck. The Chopin chain has flat links and hangs in one clean line, and it looks better coming out of a shirt collar. The floating box suspends the tablet in the middle so that it appears to hover when opened, which is presentable for a gift. All three can be bought separately or together. Of the three, the cord sits closest to the skin, the chain is the crispest, and the box is the most formal.

A white copper tablet worn long takes on a film, which is not dirt but oxidation. A dry cloth pressed over it takes some of it down; do not use wet wipes, whose ingredients make the colour blotchy. Dust in the strokes comes out with a soft brush, following the strokes. Sandalwood cord dislikes water, so push it up the wrist when washing your hands; soaked repeatedly, the cord softens and fades. Copper oxidizes in layers, and wiping one off leaves the next, so there is no need to hurry.