This is a necklace that I have been wearing nearly every day as of the last six months or so. It’s pendant is relatively light–perhaps the weight of a quarter– and it is of a turtle. The body of the turtle is formed from a sturdy, but to my guess, relatively available metal. It is rose-gold in color, and based on my limited knowledge of manufactured jewelry, I would assume that it has been coated in this color to make the pendant appear more attractive and expensive. “Gold” jewelry often gives off this effect.

The head of the turtle is small. It is about the shape and size of a singular “Nerds” candy pebble. On each side of the head there is a small circular indent, like someone had pushed the tip of a pen into soft metal. These are the eyes of the turtle. A loop of metal connects to the head. This is the loop through which the chain goes through. This loop is not meant to be noticed, which is why it was attached to the backside of the pendant. It is not a part of the turtle’s structure, but it is necessary to secure the pendant to the chain. I’ve actually never paid attention to this element of the pendant before, and the loop looks a bit like a nose for the turtle–turning it into quite a different creature from that angle.

The appendages of the turtle stick out from its shell. The arms are curved downward and fin-like. Fine lines are engraved into the arms to give the turtle a little bit of texture. The bottom legs are slightly smaller, straighter, and without deliberate lines. A very small tale sticks out from the bottom of the shell. These bottom parts of the turtle have a couple of lined creases in the metal. It is hard to tell whether they are intentional, but they do give the pendant a more “crafted” feel to it. The arms and legs are exactly symmetrical or the same shape. This adds personality to the piece. I can imagine a jeweler sitting at his or her work-place making this necklace, as opposed to some sort of manufactured process. I am not actually sure how this necklace was made, however.

The shell of the turtle is adorned with six evenly spaced out pink, iridescent semi-circles, and a complete circle in the middle of the shell. It seems like this material was placed on top of the rose-gold shell. The decoration on the shell is what helps establish the pendant as a turtle, and it is what, I believe, gives the necklace it’s appeal. The baby pink material and its light-reflective greenish tint complements the rose-gold base very well. When flipped over, the backside of the turtle shell has small little dots indented in it, and some sort of jewelry notation.

The chain of the necklace is thin and of a gold color. I do not think it is real gold either. It is made of up really small linked boxes. Next to the latch of the necklace are two small knots in the chain, because I had gotten the chain knotted up and not put in the energy to take the knots out. It doesn’t affect the appearance of the necklace because they can’t be seen behind my neck.

For the longest time, this has just been a pretty necklace for me. I happen to like turtles, but they are in know way my favorite animal. Lately this necklace has meant a lot to me because I got it when I was with my mother. We were are a department store such as TJ Max or Macy’s,  and I picked it out of the glass case. It probably fell between a twenty and thirty dollar price range, and it meant the world to me that my mom bought it for me. Now I associate the necklace with her, and I wear it as a means of keeping her with me, for she had passed away a couple of years ago. Although this complicates my relationship to the necklace, it is also a “joy” object for me as well, because it reminds me of a good memory with my mom, and because I like the color pink and I think the turtle is rather cute.