1/31/31/31/3Minimal collection
Engraved Verse Bracelet
925 sterling silver, hand-engraved
A flat 4mm band engraved around the full circumference with a line of classical Chinese verse, cut by hand with a graver. Each bracelet takes roughly ninety minutes to engrave.
The default line is 山有木兮木有枝 — "the mountain has trees, and the trees have branches" — from a pre-Qin song, followed by the half-line that everyone remembers but rarely says aloud. We engrave the full couplet by default.
Available unengraved on the inner face for custom text of up to 20 Latin characters.
What it means
The Verse
The line is from 越人歌, a song recorded in the 5th century BCE. On its surface it describes a landscape. In context it is a way of saying something enormous using only nouns — the trick being that 枝 (branches) sounds like 知 (to know), so the second half, 心悦君兮君不知, lands quietly: "my heart delights in you, and you do not know."
Free tracked shipping over $120 · 30-day returns · Ships in 1-2 days
Free shipping over $120
Tracked, 5-9 working days
30-day returns
Free return label, US & UK
925 sterling silver
Hallmarked on every piece
REACH & Prop 65
SGS tested for nickel release
- material
- 925 sterling silver (92.5% Ag)
- weight
- 11.4 g
- dimensions
- Band 4 mm wide, sizes S/M/L (15/17/19 cm)
- finish
- Brushed face, engraved characters darkened
- hallmark
- S925 stamped at the clasp
- 01Engraved by hand with a chisel graver under magnification — no laser
- 02Characters inked then burnished so the cuts read black against silver
- 03Clasp hand-filed to sit flush with the band
- · Hand engraving is shallow by nature — avoid abrasive pads
- · Bring to any jeweller for re-darkening; it costs almost nothing
- Full silver care guide
Dispatched from our workshop within 1-2 working days. Tracked delivery in 5-9 working days to the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Express available at checkout.
Returns accepted within 30 days of delivery, unworn and in original packaging. Return label included in every order for US and UK addresses.
Made-to-order pieces (engraved items) are excluded from returns once production has started.
The long version
The Verse, in context
The line is from 越人歌, a song recorded in the 5th century BCE. On its surface it describes a landscape. In context it is a way of saying something enormous using only nouns — the trick being that 枝 (branches) sounds like 知 (to know), so the second half, 心悦君兮君不知, lands quietly: "my heart delights in you, and you do not know."
If you want the fuller history — where this form first appears, how it travelled, and the variations that exist across regions — our symbol guide covers it in about fifteen hundred words per entry. No fluff, and we cite where we can.
Open the symbol guidePairs well with
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