This page is for anyone designing a stone bracelet for a husband, most often as an anniversary gift. It covers getting his wrist size without him noticing, choosing stones that go with his wedding band, one way to mark the years you've been married, and how far ahead to order.
Measure his wrist while he sleeps with a paper strip, snug on the hand side of the wrist bone, and round up to the next whole centimeter. Choose stones in the tone of his wedding band: browns and golds for yellow gold, greys and blacks for white metal. For an anniversary, place one Garnet per year married. A seven-year strand of 26 beads costs $84.79.
How do you measure your husband's wrist while he sleeps?
A sleeping wrist is the easiest wrist to measure, because the hand is open and the tendons are loose, so a tensed hand doesn't inflate the reading. A strip of paper works better than a sewing tape at night: it makes no noise, and you can mark it with a fingernail crease in the dark.
- Cut a paper strip about 1 cm wide and 25 cm long. Printer paper is fine.
- Wait until he's lying with the arm out on top of the covers. Choose the wrist without his watch, since that's where the bracelet will usually go.
- Slide the strip under the wrist on the hand side of the wrist bone and bring both ends up to meet on top.
- Pull until the paper lies flat with no gap, without pressing in. Crease or pen-mark the point where the ends overlap.
- In daylight, lay the strip along a ruler and read the length in centimeters. Round up any fraction: 18.6 cm is entered as 19.
Don't add anything for comfort. The studio adds about 1.2 cm of ease to a stretch bracelet on its own. If he wakes up, a borrowed bracelet is a rougher backup, and the full measuring guide explains how to read one. Wrists over 20 cm are outside the studio range; email [email protected] first.
A small aside for first anniversaries: paper is the traditional first-anniversary material, so the strip you measured with can go in the card.
Which stones go with his wedding band?
Match the stone tone to the metal he already wears every day, and the bracelet will look like it came with the ring. His wedding band is the one piece of jewelry you know he'll have on, so it's a better guide than his shirts.
| His band or watch | Stones that match | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow gold | Tiger's Eye, Bronzite, Sunstone | Pyrite matches too but is best kept dry |
| White gold, platinum, steel | Labradorite, Tourmalinated Quartz, Hematite | Hematite is best kept dry |
| Black ceramic or tungsten | Shungite, Black Onyx, Smoky Quartz | Black Onyx is commonly dyed |
| Rose gold | Sunstone, Carnelian, Peach Aventurine | Carnelian is commonly heat-treated |
| No ring, leather watch strap | Rhyolite, Bronzite, Red Jasper | Earthy browns and reds |
If he wears two metals, say a gold band and a steel watch, follow the watch. It sits nearer the bracelet and covers more of the wrist. The broader styling rules for men's bracelets, including bead size by wrist, are in the men's bracelet guide.
How can a bracelet count the years you've been married?
Place one accent bead for each year married, spaced around a darker base stone. Garnet suits this well: its bead card ties it to devotion and lasting friendship, and against black its dark red looks like wine rather than a bright red.
Seventh anniversary example: he measured 18.6 cm, which is entered as 19 cm. At 8 mm the studio gives 26 positions.
- 7 Garnet at $3.20, one for each year.
- 19 Shungite at $2.60 in the gaps: five gaps of three and two gaps of two, so the Garnets look evenly spread.
- Total with the $12.99 stretch base: $84.79.
Shungite is softer than quartz, around Mohs 3.5 to 4. For a husband who works with his hands, use 19 Black Onyx at $1.60 instead; the bracelet then comes to $65.79 and the base is quartz-hard.
A count reads as a count up to about a third of the strand. Past nine or ten years on 8 mm, the Garnets start to crowd. Switch to one Garnet per five years (a 20th anniversary becomes four Garnets), or move to 6 mm beads, which gives 34 positions on a 19 cm wrist. The studio has no number or letter beads, so the count is how the date gets in.
Should his bracelet match one of yours?
It can, but it doesn't have to. A matching pair usually shares one stone, for example his Garnets as the accent in your own strand, rather than being two copies of the same bracelet. Ideas for pairs are in the couple bracelet set guide.
There's a practical reason to order two: shipping is free on orders over $99, and the seven-year strand plus any second bracelet clears that. On its own, the $84.79 bracelet pays the $5.99 standard shipping.
How far ahead should you order for an anniversary?
Order at least 19 calendar days before the anniversary, and a month ahead if a public holiday falls in between. Orders are processed in 1 to 3 business days and standard shipping takes 5 to 10 business days, so the slowest case is 13 business days, about two and a half weeks. Delivery is to the US, Canada and most other countries; outside the US and Canada, delivery times vary by destination.
Double-check the wrist size before you pay. An order can be changed or cancelled within 1 hour of placing it, and custom designs are final sale after that.
What if he has never worn a bracelet?
Go smaller and plainer than you'd pick for yourself: one stone in 6 mm, in the tone of his wedding band, with no accent. On a 19 cm wrist that's 34 beads of a single stone, and it reads as a thin dark line next to the ring rather than as jewelry he has to explain. Save the anniversary count for when you know he wears it. More anniversary ideas for either partner are in beaded anniversary gifts.
Sources: Hardness of shungite, selenite, malachite, rhodochrosite and quartz: Mindat mineral database. Stone meanings are traditional folklore, not health or financial advice.