Why we string on silk, not elastic

Most beaded bracelets you can buy today are strung on elastic cord. It is the obvious choice: no clasp to fit, one size stretches over most wrists, and a bench can turn out dozens an hour. We tried it for six weeks and stopped.

Elastic fails suddenly

Latex-core cord degrades from the inside. It meets hand cream, sunscreen, hot water, and the edge of every bead hole it passes through, and it thins where you cannot see it. Then it does not stretch — it snaps, usually mid-gesture, usually over a sidewalk. You do not get a warning, and you do not get your beads back.

Silk behaves differently. It wears visibly. A silk-strung bracelet gets slightly fuzzy at the knots months before it is at risk, which is a conversation instead of an accident. We knot between every bead, so a break costs you one bead, not the whole string.

The trade-offs we accepted

Silk needs a real closure, so every bracelet gets a sterling clasp and a fitted length — which is why we ask for a wrist size instead of selling one-size. It takes about forty minutes at the bench instead of four. It also does not like being worn in the shower, and we would rather tell you that than pretend the material has no rules.

Restringing is included for the first year. Send it back, we re-knot it, you keep the stones you chose. That is only a promise worth making because of the material underneath it.