A Bit of Wild jewelry is created from antler sections that have been carefully hand-sanded then polished to a soft sheen. Antlers, borne by males of the deer family (and by female caribou and reindeer) are the fastest-growing bone in any mammal - indeed, one of the fastest-growing tissues in the animal kingdom! Shed and regrown annually for the life of the animal, antler is a renewable bio-material unlike anything human-made. Shed as well as salvaged/repurposed antlers provide the raw material for this jewelry.

Antler shape, size configuration and density vary with geography, animal age and health, mineral status, nutrition, and genetics. The "spongy" bone in the inner core of the antler forms differently and is typically distinct from the harder, ivory-like outer material. This variation, reflecting the pattern asymmetry, and imperfection that characterize much of nature, is the palette for this distinctive jewelry. In different sizes, shapes, and tones from delicate to bold, no two pieces are alike, and all are surprisingly light weight. This set is designed as hoop earrings. Ear wires are silver plate.

Length of earring 2 3/8 inches.

Crafted and donated by Don Christian, Mohonk Preserve Board Member Emeritus.

Photo: Andrea MacScott