January Dark Red Gold Steel Keepsake

People born in January get garnet, and this bead answers it in deep red glass banded around gold-toned steel. It runs five-eighths of an inch in each direction, which puts it in charm territory rather than pendant territory. The red goes almost black in low light and lifts to wine in the sun.

What goes inside is a pinch: a few grains of ashes, held behind a screw top that seats flush. Most people who buy one of these already have a main urn at home and want something small to wear, or a second piece for another member of the family. Keep it to a chain no thicker than about 3 mm or the bead will not thread on.

• Screw top opening; fill slowly and tap the bead down as you go.
• Sold singly, so a family can order several and match them to different birth months.
• Glass banding chips against other charms, so keep a spacer bead on either side of it.