Lost – and found – and lost again

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I bought this bracelet 23 years ago in Spain. The design is called a Byzantine chain which I particularly like. I wore it a lot and then suddenly I lost it. I turned the house upside down looking for it, to no avail. I asked friends I had visited, but there was no sign. So then I looked for another to replace it, but for years I couldn’t find one. I could occasionally find Byzantine chain bracelets, but they were always either much thinner, whereas I wanted a chunkier version, or else they were so chunky they were obviously intended for men which meant they were also longer, and since the length is not adjustable this meant they would just fall straight over my hand. Eventually, quite by chance, I found that the charity Unicef has an online store and that they sell a range of artisan crafted items, including an extensive range of jewellery, and this included the very bracelet I wanted in a selection of widths! Fantastic. I ordered one at once and it was perfect, exactly like the original. (https://www.unicef.org.uk/market/ for anyone who’s interested) But then, a couple of years later, we were going camping and Big One decided she wanted her own tent. So we got our old, smaller, tent out of the garage and opened it up to check that it was still functional. And lo and behold! There was my original bracelet, missing for 12 years, which had accidentally been packed up inside the tent the last time we used it. So then I had two, and they were indistinguishable in appearance. The only difference was that even though the fasteners looked exactly the same, one of them would occasionally come unhooked on its own and the bracelet would fall off. This happened a few times but I always noticed in time and retrieved it. But finally it fell off when we were in Whitby, and I didn’t notice until a bit later. In fact I don’t know how much later, because I couldn’t remember exactly when I last had it. I did retrace my steps as much as possible but we had been to a couple of shops and wandered through town, walked along the busy seafront and on the beach (and the tide was coming in) so there was a good chance that either it was under water or someone had picked it up. So now I’m back to one again. But that’s all I need and at least this one is the one that doesn’t fall off! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2024.