During a fight, the bear strikes the opponent with its huge paw, tearing apart its body with powerful claws. Just one blow is often enough to kill a deer.
According to wildlife scientists, bears are even more dangerous than big cats, such as lions. Like other wild animals, they avoid humans, although they may attack when provoked or startled. When a hungry bear sniffs out prey, it makes impatient grunts. An attacking bear, in turn, aptly represents a tyrant oppressing and crushing his helpless subjects. For example, the book of Proverbs describes a ‘wicked ruler over a helpless people’ as a ‘growling lion and a charging bear’ (Proverbs 28:15, NWT2013).
The bear therefore rightly symbolises power, strength, and courage. These qualities inspired me to design a necklace for Mr. Michael. It consists of a deeply carved pendant shaped like a bear's head, suspended from a royal weave chain. This type of chain is a form of metal chainmail which, despite the round links used and the circular design, has a square cross-section. Even though each link passes through four others, the chain is flexible and fits well. Under the neck of the predator, I designed a shield in which a black boulder opal was set. The stone was imported from Australia as a raw specimen weighing 22 ct and was custom-cut to match the setting. The final polished stone weighs 14 ct.
