Cherry Blossom Hinged Bangle

I love bangle bracelets, but they are always difficult to get sized correctly so that they can fit over the hand. This bracelet wears like a bangle, but because of a couple of hinges it opens up and makes it much easier to fit.

The cherry blossom is considered the national flower of Japan. In the United States, the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC each spring is very well known and visitors flock to see the gorgeous trees. These beautiful flowers cover ornamental cherry trees (not the eating variety) with gorgeous pink and white blooms.

This bracelet was created entirely by hand with the ancient sculpting techniques of chasing and repousse, using small, specialized tools and thousands of hammer blows to push and form the metal, either from the front of the piece to add texture and detail (chasing) or from behind to create depth (repousse). This work is done free hand, beginning with a flat sheet of metal, and no molds, stamps or machines are used in the process, making each piece truly one of a kind.

This sterling silver bracelet fits a 6-1/2 inch wrist but is rather forgiving in sizing since it doesn’t have to fit over the hand. There is a pin that serves as the catch (the pin will not come all the way out so there is no way it can be lost), and there is an additional safety chain as well.