Elvish "sister" bracelet

Elvish "sister" bracelet. Silver and moonstone.  2.5" x 2" x 1.5" (ish). 2013

bottom view

end view; can see moonstone iridescence

This is a bracelet that I made for my sister as a gift in thanks for her standing up with me at my wedding.  

My sister and I took a "mini course" in Sindarin (a fictional Elven language created by JRR Tolkien) years ago; it was a nerdy thing to do, yes, but fun!  We both like fantasy (my whole family does, actually), so the mini-course was right up our alley.  I did not retain any of the things I learned from the course (pronunciation, ability to read Sindarin writing without help), but I do still have all the study guides that came with the class, and I get them out every now and then to take a look and admire the written language, which is quite beautiful.

Anyway, I thought an elven-style bracelet would a special and fitting gift for my tall and elegant sister (seriously, all she needs are pointy ears and she could be a LOTR elf).  As you might have guessed, the three symbols on the top of the bracelet spell out the word "sister" in Sindarin.

This project was not my first go as a silversmith, but it was once of my first go as a lapidarist (stone-cutter).  Of course I would choose a difficult stone like moonstone (ha!), which needs to be cut at just the right angle (along the right plane) in order for the iridescence of the moonstone to be visible.  (The other stone I decided to learn lapidary skills on was turquoise, another difficult stone to work with as it is so soft and is easily ruined.)