I’m a bracelet junkie. I buy and wear lots of them, some occasionally and others until they break or rot. Right now my right arm is home to a Massai-woven bead band I got in Tanzania two years ago; a beaded, twisted, three-strand bracelet a jeweler friend made; a woven friendship-style strap from Ecuador and a simple silver thing I’ve worn continuously since I was a teen.
I’ve bought all types of novelty bracelets, but those on a web site I just found top them all: bracelets woven from music stars’ guitar strings. I looked at the site briefly, laughed and clicked on to something else. But www.wearyourmusic.com stuck with me. I went back and looked more closely. The bracelets are actually very attractive. And their sales benefit music-related charities.
The RELIXband is delicate and classy. It features guitar strings donated by music-world celebrities twisted together. They’re made of copper, nickel or stainless steel. Each bracelet includes a note of authenticity verifying it came from who you thought it came from. All proceeds from the RELIXband go to a charity of the artist’s choice. The bracelet is named for RELIX magazine which collects the guitar strings for the project.
The original Wear Your Music Bracelet is a much less expensive double wrap around the wrist in six bright colors and silver-tone ends. A portion of its sales goes to MusicCares.
The list of artists whose guitar strings (and an occasional violin) are turned into RELIXbands is long with many names I didn’t recognize. But there are plenty of baby boomer favorites, and the idea of wearing a bracelet made of Keith Richards’ guitar strings is amusing. There also are plenty of more current musicians like Weezer and Widespread Panic. John Mayer and Jimmy Buffet are among the newest participants in the program.
There are options to add a clasp, add a diamond or engrave the RELIXband bracelet. Prices vary for reasons I can’t figure out other than some musicians change strings frequently and others don’t, making their guitar strings rarer. The basic Keith Richards bracelet with no add-ons sells for $150. So does the Ziggy Marley. Jimmy Buffett is $300. Go figure.