Marla Aaron marks sixty with a crimson shrimp in gold and enamel
For her kanreki, the jeweller created a wearable symbol of longevity that threads onto chain or loops through her signature locks, a meditation on decades lived and the pleasure of making what you love.
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Marla Aaron, the jeweller who began by making pieces she wanted to wear herself, has crafted an ornament for her sixtieth year: a shrimp in vivid red enamel and gold, threaded through with the delicate philosophy of kanreki, the Japanese celebration that marks the moment the calendar completes its circle and life begins anew.
Kanreki unfolds in red, the colour of birth and renewal. At the celebration, red shrimp appear on the table, their significance woven into their very form: the curved spine of a cooked shrimp mirrors the gentled arch of an elder’s back, while the long antennae evoke the wise, wispy beard of age. The shrimp becomes symbol and sustenance, a gesture toward longevity and the grace of enduring.
Aaron’s shrimp behaves like a bead. Thread it onto a chain or string as you would, but it also passes through the signature locks for which her work is known, those sculptural closures that hold pieces together with architectural precision. The red enamel catches light with an almost lacquered intensity against the gold, while the antennae curl with the particular delicacy that marks her hand. A small black eye gives it intention.
The piece carries its own narrative: a maker honouring the years that brought her here, to this moment of still making, still sharing the things she loves with those who understand them. It is both commemoration and talisman, a reminder to wear close to the skin that beginning again is not abandonment but continuation, that the life lived matters precisely because it circles back to itself.
Imagery courtesy of Marla Aaron (@marlaaaron).