Update On My Mobius Bracelet Quest

(I prefer to spell it "Moebius", by the way, since there's an accented character in the middle, but the search engines tell me most people spell it the less complicated way.)

Recently I mentioned my quest for a Shakespearean Mobius bracelet.  I noticed them a year or so ago when looking for a gift for my wife.  First I thought about a pendant of some sort, but when I saw the bracelet, especially with the "infinity twist", I loved it.  It helps that by writing on both sides of the bracelet you can also get a very long quote, something not as possible with a simple pendant.  But I loathe that dreaded Sonnet 116 ("Let me not to the marriage of true minds....")  Using that sonnet in your wedding is like believing in Buddhism because Brad Pitt does.  There's a 154 of them to choose from, surely you can find one that's more personal.

Long story short (read the linked post), I was told that a personalized version can't exist.  The machinery to make them means essentially that if you're not making them by the thousand, you're out of luck.  I've continued to hunt, if not for this than for something similar.  I found one supplier (via this blog) who sent me along to her manufacturer, who told me that they only work with "companies with a catalog."  So I went back to the first supplier and asked if they'd consider putting this piece in their catalog just so I could buy one :).  I haven't heard back and don't expect to.

But guess what?  I ACTUALLY FOUND SOMEBODY TO DO IT!  I'm very excited.  I hit upon their web page which showed a blank Mobius bracelet, with a note "engraving available, contact for details."  So I did, and basically explained the situation: "I've been informed by numerous jewelers that engraving one of these is impossible, so I'm assuming that by offering engraving what you mean is a short quote that only goes on one side and does not take the twist into account."

I got back a note the same day saying "Nope, we do both sides, right through the twist.  What do you need?"

Woohoo!  I actually get a whopping 270 characters to play with, which is way too long for my mandatory quote ("If I could write the beauty of your eyes....") but too short for the whole first half ("Who will believe my verse in time to come....") by a good 10 characters or so.  So instead I've sprinkled it with several choice quotes, including "I will swear I love thee infinitely" which Alan and Bill were nice enough to validate for me as being something appropriate for a gift.  How do you not love an infinity quote on a Mobius strip?  Or is that just me being a geeky geek?

My timing couldn't be better (he said ironically) as the jeweler left for vacation yesterday and won't be back until next week.  So it's still a good month or so until I get to see my finished product.  I have avoided linking their site, because well, you know, I haven't actually seen the finished product yet and I did have a number of people tell me it's impossible.  So there's at least a slight worry on my part that I'm going to be disappointed.

When it arrives I'll be sure to take pictures so everybody can see it.  At the time I'll definitely rant and rave and provide links, hopefully in good context :).  It should end up as an anniversary present, though my anniversary is at the end of September and I'm not sure I'll be able to keep the secret that long.