White Copper Heavenly Secret Bracelet

The bracelet is a link chain, one link closing on the next, hanging straight when laid flat and following the wrist bone when worn. The front of each link carries a cast character, so turning it gives different angles, and light sliding over the sloped faces makes the character flash. The weight sits on the back of the wrist, and after long wear there is a slight drag. Gaps are left between links so that the chain does not pinch when the wrist bends or trap sweat underneath.

Tianji is one of the fourteen primary stars in Ziwei dou shu, attributed to wood and placed in the Southern Dipper. Traditional manuals tie it to thought, planning and adaptability, and say that a person with it in the life palace thinks a great deal and moves quickly. These are claims inside a system; belief is a personal matter and has no bearing on whether a bracelet is well made. The characters take that sense, cut square with no joined strokes. The links are not antiqued, so the colour is new, and after a winter of wear it will settle a shade.

The difficulty of a link chain is movement. Every pair of links needs play: too tight and it stiffens and the wrist cannot bend, too loose and it rattles. Copper is ductile, so the rings can be closed by hand, but the pressure has to be even. Heavy on one side and the ring sits crooked, and a crooked ring will not turn, so it has to be levered open and started again. The pliers used for closing should have plastic jaws, since bare metal leaves tooth marks that polishing will not remove.

On a thin wrist a link chain tends to rotate and slide below the wrist bone. A short extension at the clasp will take up the slack, or choose a shorter length. In summer sweat leaves a faint green mark where the copper touches skin. It is not poisoning, only copper salts, and it washes off, so there is no need to worry. If it bothers you, a thin layer of hand cream on the inside of the wrist beforehand puts an oil film between metal and skin and the mark is fainter.

Sweat collects in the gaps between links. Every so often soak it for a few minutes in warm water with a drop of dish soap, swirl it, rinse and blow dry. Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner, because long vibration loosens the small rings. Store it flat rather than hung, since hanging stretches the chain and it goes slack. If it has already stretched, one link can be taken out, working from the clasp end so that the body of the chain keeps no gap.