If A Necklace Breaks

Everyone has those times when a necklace, or another piece of jewelry they’re wearing, comes off in their hands. You’re left there, sitting open-mouthed, with something you love that’s come apart in bits and pieces. If you’re anything like me, and you cherish what you have with all your heart, you might look at these pieces, and start crying. I have. I have cried a lot over broken jewelry. Sometimes, when you buy something super, super inexpensive — or, even very expensive —, the quality just does not hold up, and you’re left weeping. But, what happens when we purchase jewelry cord online, or the same type of elastic it was on, or cord with a clasp? It becomes much, much easier to be able to restring what you love. You can have that piece of jewelry back. All it takes is a nice piece of string.

You can even find jewelry chains online, or in most craft stores. There are various sizes. You might even find yourself discovering a better necklace or bracelet. Can you imagine? The chain breaks for your necklace, and you replace it with cord, automatically morphing it into a completely different piece of jewelry.

My favorite is purchasing several different types of cording. There are thin cotton cords, satin rope, and so many other types. Any color imaginable exists. All you need is to cut a length and tie it in the knot at one end, after restringing, or adding the lost pendant to it. This is the easiest, and best, way to upcycle: you take something broken, and you make it yours.

If you don’t like the idea of making it yours, there are so many options, you can most likely even find duplicate chain or duplicate cording. You can restring what you lost into a way where it’s no longer lost, and it’s exactly the way it was before.

What’s so cool about this is, if you want to, you can restring it any time you want.

Let’s say you find a piece of jewelry at a consignment shop. You love it, and you want to take it home with you, but you hate the type of hardware its on. You go home. You grab some silk or satin ribbon. You restring it. Now, it’s yours, and it’s the necklace, or bracelet, you dreamed of when you first saw it.

There’s no shame in that.

And, now, it’s different enough that you can call it your own, but not completely. That original piece will always be there, a remnant of rhinestones and beads, but you’ve put your own twist on it. It’s become a piece that is much, much more you, and every time you pick it up, you’ll be reminded of what it originally was… and what it became.

The options are endless. If a necklace breaks, you can fix it. It can become what it once was, become something new, or both. As long as you keep in your mind that something broken doesn’t need to stay broken, it opens up a whole world of artful possibilities.