Fifty Rings of the Living Tree

Handmade Tree of Life Halfpenny Necklace – 1976

There’s something deeply moving about a coin that has lived a life in someone’s pocket, passed hand to hand through decades of ordinary days. A small halfpenny, once common and unnoticed, becomes something far rarer when it is rescued from history and given a second life.

Fifty Rings of the Living Tree is a handcrafted Tree of Life pendant, made from a 1976 British halfpenny coin, transformed slowly and traditionally by hand in the Hairy Growler workshop.

The coin is carefully cut, shaped and refined, then engraved with a flowing tree whose branches spread outward like memory, like family, like time itself. Each leaf is carved with delicate detail, catching the light as the pendant moves, while the openwork design allows the colour of the world behind it to shine through.

The Tree of Life is an ancient symbol — of growth, resilience, renewal, and the invisible roots that hold us steady. For a 50th birthday, it feels especially fitting: a celebration of strength, change, and the beautiful unfolding of a life.

For this pendant you have the option for it to be finished with a handmade sterling silver chain, a traditional shepherd’s crook style hook catch, and a small companion charm — an oak leaf, echoing the tree’s meaning and adding a subtle woodland talisman to the piece.

Made slowly, with patience and intention, this pendant is not mass-produced jewellery. It is a small relic of British history, reimagined as wearable art — something to be worn, gifted, and treasured for the next fifty years.

The Story Behind the Coin

This pendant begins as an old halfpenny — a coin from a different era, once part of everyday British life. Rather than allowing it to be melted down and lost, it is reclaimed and repurposed through traditional silversmithing techniques.

Each coin carries its own surface history, meaning every finished piece holds a unique fingerprint of time.

Handcrafted in England

Designed and made entirely by hand in the Hairy Growler workshop, using traditional jewellery-making tools and techniques — saw piercing, hand finishing, engraving, and polishing.

No casting. No shortcuts. Just honest craft.

A Meaningful Gift for a 50th Birthday

A Tree of Life is more than decoration — it is a symbol of the journey so far and the growth still to come. Whether gifted to a loved one or chosen as a personal milestone piece, this necklace celebrates the strength of roots and the beauty of new branches.

Fifty Rings of the Living Tree

A pendant of time, growth, and quiet magic — born from a halfpenny and made to endure.