The gift my husband has not taken off
The gift my husband has not taken off
Six things that make the Rhythm the gift a music lover will actually wear, from a woman who is not a fashion writer.
Caroline Richards · Customer · Nottinghamshire · 5 min read
Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Caroline, I am 62, I live in Nottinghamshire, and I have never once sat down to write about a piece of jewellery in my life. What I have is a husband, Derek, who is 68 and has loved his music his whole life, his records, his old guitar, the radio on of a morning, and who is quite impossible to buy for. Every birthday I get him the same sort of thing, a jumper, some socks, a book he already owns, and every year I watch him say thank you and quietly put it in a drawer. So this is not a review. It is a wife who finally found a gift her husband actually wears, saying why.
The one I am writing about is called the Rhythm, from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly looking after people our age for a few years now. It is a men's leather bracelet, a proper masculine one, with a little treble clef worked into the middle of it, for a music lover. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
I gave it to Derek, half expecting the usual polite thank you and the drawer. Instead he put it straight on, and he has not taken it off since. That was the moment it won me over. Read on.
Here is the little disappointment every birthday used to bring. I would hunt about for something for Derek, settle on a safe jumper or another book, and watch his face do that kind, tired little smile that means it will live in a drawer. He is not a man for fuss or flashy things, so most gifts miss, and I had rather given up on ever finding something that was truly him.
Every year I gave him a jumper he put in a drawer. This little bracelet he has worn every single day since, because the music note means something to him.
The Rhythm is the first gift I have given Derek in years that he actually wears, and having watched him barely take it off, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The day it arrived, in its little box. It looks a proper gift, not an afterthought.
IT MEANS SOMETHING TO HIM
This is the heart of it. The little treble clef in the middle is not just decoration, it is his whole life, his music, worked into something he can wear. So it is not just another thing, it is his, and that is why he treasures it. After years of gifts that said nothing, giving him one that said "I know who you are" is worth more than the price a hundred times over.
The little treble clef and the plaited leather. A gift that actually says something.
Bought it for my dad, a lifelong musician, and he has worn it every day since. The little music note means the world to him.
Christine B., West BridgfordHE ACTUALLY WEARS IT
This is the part I still cannot get over. Derek is not a jewellery man, and yet he has this on from breakfast to bedtime, to the shops, to the pub, pottering in the garden. It is comfortable and light, so he forgets it is even there, and it stays put. A gift that gets worn every day instead of tucked away is a rare and lovely thing.
My husband never wears anything on his wrist, and this has not come off in weeks. Comfortable and light, he says. Amazed.
Margaret E., SouthwellSMART AND MASCULINE, NOT NAFF
I worried a bracelet might look silly on a man of Derek's age, but this is nothing of the sort. It is proper leather, dark and understated, plaited and neat, the sort of thing that looks quietly stylish rather than flashy or young. It suits a grown man, and it goes with everything he wears, his jumpers, his shirts, his old gardening coat. Handsome, not gaudy.
Was worried it would look naff on an older chap, it does not at all. Understated and smart, proper leather. He looks great in it.
Dorothy S., BeestonWELL MADE, AND BUILT TO LAST
It feels like a proper thing, not a flimsy novelty. It is real, sturdy leather in several plaited strands, with a solid metal clasp, so it has weight and quality to it and it is clearly made to be worn hard and last. Derek has had his on through rain and gardening and washing-up and it still looks as good as the day it came. A gift that survives the everyday.
On his wrist at the guitar, where it belongs. Sturdy leather, made to be worn.
Proper quality leather and a good solid clasp. It has taken everyday wear and still looks lovely. Made to last, this one.
Pauline H., ArnoldAN ADJUSTABLE CLASP THAT FITS ANY WRIST
It is one size with an adjustable metal clasp, so it fits whatever wrist it is going on, slim or broad, and the clasp is a proper sturdy one that is easy to do up, which matters when hands are not as nimble as they were. No guessing at sizes when you are buying it as a gift, no fiddly little fastenings. It simply fits, and it stays done up.
On the dresser of an evening. Easy to take off, easy to do up again.
The clasp is easy for older hands and adjusts to fit. No worry about the size when buying as a gift. So well thought out.
Eileen T., NewarkTHREE COLOURS, AND A LOVELY PRICE
It comes in three colours, a black like Derek's, a brown and a blue, so there is one to suit any man you are buying for, and at the price it is the loveliest little gift that does not cost the earth. I have quietly put a brown one by for our son, who plays the guitar, because I know now that this is the sort of gift that lands. A small thing that means a great deal.
Such a lovely price for something this well made. I have bought two more as gifts, the brown and the blue. They always go down well.
Maureen C., BinghamThe Rhythm, against the gifts that end up in a drawer
You can spend years buying a man jumpers and books and socks and still never quite hit the mark. I know, because I did. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Another jumper, another book
A polite thank you, then the drawer
Says nothing about who he is
Forgotten by the weekend
You are none the wiser next year
A treble clef, for a music lover
Worn every single day since
Says "I know exactly who you are"
Comfortable, so it stays on
The gift you will be remembered for
About the price
The Rhythm is £17.95 at the moment. It was £35.90.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with gift season coming the popular colours are the first to go, and with the autumn sale on they are going quickly, so once a colour has sold out it can be a wait for it to come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that half price is usually where I start asking what is wrong with a thing, and for a gift this well made and this well received, I have found nothing wrong with it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars, which sounded like real people rather than robots, so I read on. The same things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other people's words.
A little thing, but the one gift he actually wears.
If you have a music lover in your life who is impossible to buy for, a husband, a dad, a son, a brother, this is the gift I would hand you myself, while the colour you want is still there. Go and have a look.
Caroline
RHYTHM | MEN'S LEATHER MUSIC BRACELET
- A little treble clef, for a music lover
- Comfortable and light, so he actually wears it
- Smart, masculine leather, understated not naff
- Well made, with a solid metal clasp, built to last
- Adjustable one size, fits any wrist
- Black, blue or brown, and a lovely price
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now, with gift season coming. Popular colours go first.