White Copper Zodiac Three-hole Bead Set Bracelet Charm

The twelve zodiac animals are sold with three-hole beads, set by set. Each set is one three-hole bead with one animal to match. Six sets sit on the shelf: ox, goat, rat, tiger, pig and rabbit, each with a name flashier than the last. The missing signs are not out of production; restocking is slow, and coming early is not as good as coming at the right moment. The sign is fixed, so the only choice is whether it pleases the eye. The three-hole beads are a uniform pattern and the six sets differ only in the animal, so putting a set together is not hard. After selling these a while you know which sign runs out, and most people who ask start with their own.

The names are plain: Cash Cow, Big Silver Dollar, Money Rat, Sudden Fortune Tiger, Wealth and Honour Pig, Treasure-Hiding Rabbit. The goat's name turns on the sound of yang, as in the silver dollar of old; the ox takes its name from the cash cow. Wholesalers and market-stall keepers perk up at a name like that. What such a thing sells is a phrase of good wishes; if the work is neat and the price is right, the rest is whether the eye likes it. The name is the hook, and the piece itself is honest white copper. Some buy a single animal for their own sign instead of a set, which is less trouble.

The channels are not small; ordinary elastic and jade cord both pass, and doubled cord goes through as well. Matching beads follow the three-hole bead: it must be a size larger than the branch beads to close the strand, and a size smaller and it binds between them, and no adjustment makes that right. Choose a darker cord, red included; dark cord sets white copper most steadily, while a pale cord is dirty in two days. For elastic through a three-hole bead, use two strands; a single strand wears at the mouth quickly and needs changing in three months.

Handled white copper moves from cool white toward yellow, faster on people who sweat. The animal pieces have many edges, and ears and tails are thin, so keep them out of a pocket with keys. If a batch does not sell out, seal the rest in a plastic bag rather than leaving them open, where six months will dull them; dull can be wiped, but it is not as bright as new. The twelve signs sell in rotation: rat, ox, tiger and rabbit move quickly, dragon, snake, horse and goat more slowly, and restocking has its season.

The set is used by pairing the closing three-hole bead with one animal; which goes next to which, and on which side, you decide when you string. The three-hole bead has openings on three faces: the main line runs up through the bottom, branch beads attach at the sides, and the top takes a stupa bead. The animal is a size smaller than the three-hole bead, so it does not take over the position; it works as a marker, and with it in the strand the closing point is not left empty. There is a hole in the animal, so tie it on a short length of cord first and then bring it into the main line, which keeps it from turning.