S/O STUDIO
4. Pseudo 日本 12 in 1 Bracelet
Sterling Silver .925 (Sz. 7 in.)
Of all the chainmail patterns I’ve punished myself with, this one might be my favorite. It’s based on a kusari (鎖帷子) pattern that owes its existence to the samurai class. I could probably market it as a “samurai bracelet,” but something about that feels off. Too imperialist? Too masc?
When I showed my dad this piece, he ran his fingers over it and said he liked the texture. My partner said the same. A ringing endorsement. The pattern itself is a 12-in-1, meaning each larger ring should have 12 smaller rings passing through... if there were three rows. Which brings me to my mistake. I kind of eyeballed the ring sizes, and now there’s no room for that crucial third row. A pseudo 12-in-1, an almost-but-not-quite.
I thought about scrapping it, starting over, pretending the whole thing never happened. But something about the two-row version felt intentional—delicate, even. And once something exists, tearing it apart just to satisfy a half-baked original plan feels a little cruel. So I’m selling it at cost to fund a new version with three rows. Maybe I’ll try one with hammered black rhodium-plated silver next?