Fair exchange: a pearl for a snake

Not long ago I was given a new pearl ring by my friend Jo. It was a gift, but also in exchange for a bangle I'd finally given her, which she had yearned for ever since I originally bought it for myself in December 2017.

This is the bangle. £300 worth of hallmarked silver by Justin Richardson of Canterbury, made in the form of a coiled snake or serpent. Beautifully simple. I couldn't resist it when I saw it.

I never stopped liking it, but it wasn't the easiest thing to wear. To put it on, I had to squeeze my not-very-slender wrist through that gap: it was hard to do. And then, once on my wrist, it was loose and heavy and not entirely comfortable. It would  snag in sleeves. If I moved it up my arm a bit, to stop it moving around, it left marks on my skin. At first only depressions:

But sometimes the marks would look angry and red, fading only slowly. I suppose my skin was ageing, not so elastic, getting thinner, and reacting badly to pressure or anything digging-in. Latterly the serpent bangle was causing definite bruising. So I took if off and put it back in its box. This was noticed by my local girlfriends, who saw me often. They were sad that this expensive bangle hadn't worked out. But I wasn't yet ready to pass it on.

The right moment to let go took some time coming, but eventually arrived on 27th January this year. I presented Jo with the bangle at one of our lunches. She was delighted!

There it is, on her right wrist. She loves jewellery, and always wears multiple bracelets, bangles, necklaces and rings. Valerie is the same. The rest of us wear much less, but still select our jewellery carefully for the best effect. We all have pieces, old and new, that we treasure. When we club together to get a birthday present for one of us, a new item of jewellery is often the present in mind, or at least a contribution towards it. Thus it was that my 70th Birthday Ring last year was partly paid for with money put up by the other girls, although of course I personally covered the major part of the cost. Even so, it felt (as it should) like they bought it for me. 

Jo helped me with the design of that 70th Birthday Ring, which had to be specially made. We first looked at a selection of differently-styled rings at Pruden & Smith, the Ditchling jewellers where we both have an account. Among them was a pearl ring, mounted on a silver band, which I tried on. It fitted nicely, and looked lovely, but it wouldn't be the right choice for a ring I'd want to wear all the time and never take off. A pearl ring was too delicate, too easily spoiled, and wouldn't stand up to constant wear. I wanted something I could keep on my finger all the time and never need to take off. 

So I looked instead at topazes and sapphires, and Jo assisted me with choosing the right stone in the right colour. While doing this, and without my knowing, she bought that pearl ring for me, intending to give it to me at a later date. Obviously, it wouldn't be in 2022, when the spotlight was on my 70th Birthday Ring. She'd wait until 2023. 

Having told her in late January that she was at last going to get the serpent bangle, she let on that she had something for me in exchange. Of course I had no idea what. It was all left deliciously mysterious. Well, a few days after Jo finally (and with ceremony) got her longed-for bangle, this enticing little package was produced to me, on an evening-meal-with-cards-to-follow evening:

I let Jo's husband Clive take these shots with LXV, of the pearl ring on my right-hand little finger, which seemed its natural home:

It was my turn to be delighted! On a subsequent wearing, I moved the pearl ring to my other little finger, behind the little plain silver band that had been there since my birthday in 1994. The pearl ring wasn't a tight fit, and in cold weather it really needed a snugger-fitting ring to hold it safely in place. 

But that meant three rings close together on one hand, and only one on the other. An imbalance. Besides, while long-fingered women can sport two or three rings on each finger, my short stubby fingers weren't suitable for wearing more than one ring on each. So I decided to switch the pearl ring back to my right hand and only wear it there. Once the latest round of annual expenditure on the car was out of the way (more on that shortly), I'd get Pruden & Smith to reduce the ring by half a size, so that it would be a firm enough fit in cold conditions, but still not too snug in hot summer weather, when my fingers were likely to swell a bit. 

Pearlwise I now had a proper set of jewellery: A 65-pearl necklace, originally 69 pearls. A pearl pendant, created from the 4 pearls taken from the necklace to shorten it. And now a pearl ring. All matching. So if I'm ever made a Baroness, or a Dame of the British Empire, I won't be stuck for something suitable for the occasion.

The King: A thoroughly well-deserved honour, Lucy!

Lucy (curtsying): Thank you, Your Majesty.

The King: Your pearls are splendid.

Lucy: Thank you, Your Majesty.

The King: I don't suppose you'd consider a swap? My wife - the Queen, you know - has enough pearl necklaces to sink a battleship, but nothing quite like that pendant, nor that ring. A diamond tiara perhaps, in exchange?

Lucy: Thank you, Your Majesty. I'll think it over. 

King: Well, now you're a Baroness, we'll want to see you soon at the Palace. Or the Castle. I'll have an invitation sent. 

Lucy: Thank you, Your Majesty. 

But I'll probably be away in my caravan.