Three blue opalites are set at intervals along a chain of small polished silver cups, so this sterling silver station bracelet reads as stone, plain silver, stone, plain silver, stone. The two outer stations hold oval opalites, and the one in the middle is a little larger. Every opalite sits inside a halo of tiny round zircons, colorless and bright, which draws a white rim of sparkle around each patch of blue.

Opalite is a man-made glass, not a natural stone and not a kind of opal. The opalite here is synthetic, a deep blue with an opalescent glow: in side light it shows a soft sheen and lighter flecks inside the color. It is chosen for that color and glow rather than for rarity.

The zircons are synthetic too, small round stones packed closely around each opalite. Zircon is listed among the December birthstones, so the bracelet can mark a December birthday, although these zircons are colorless rather than the blue shade most often tied to that month. Here they act as a frame, and the blue of the opalite leads.

We cast the bracelet in 925 sterling silver in our workshop, finish it by hand and polish it, then plate it in rhodium. The plating keeps the metal a bright white, close to the white of the zircons, and slows tarnish. The whole piece weighs about 7.5 grams, so it stays dainty on the wrist: a silver bracelet for women to wear on its own day after day, or to stack with thin chains and a watch.

Unlike a tennis bracelet, where stones run all the way round, this one gathers its stones in three stations along one stretch of the chain, and the rest is plain polished links that bend with the wrist. Worn, the stations rest across the top of the wrist, where the blue is seen. The bracelet is 21 cm long, a little over 8 inches. Blue stones in white silver also make it an easy something blue for a bride, or a gift for her at any time of year.