Vivid pink tourmaline Worry Fish necklace with a solid 14k gold fish charm

The Story Behind the Worry Fish Necklace

November 12, 2026

A Worry Fish is a little solid gold or solid sterling silver fish charm on a dainty natural gemstone strand, made to be touched, so that when your mind starts running in circles you can reach for the fish, take a breath, and remind yourself that you are okay in this exact moment. It is one of the only designs I have ever made backwards, metal first and stones second, and the story of how it came to be goes back two years.

Where did the Worry Fish come from?

Back in 2024 I had a handful of carved tourmaline fish charms in my shop, and this was before fish turned into the trend you see everywhere now. Once they did become trendy, I found myself stepping away from them, because if you have followed me for a while you know I don't really fall into trends. I like coming up with my own ideas and letting my work stand on its own without being pulled along by whatever happens to be popular at the time, so I set the fish aside, and they stayed set aside for two whole years.

But I never stopped thinking about a solid gold fish. I had it in my head the entire time, I just didn't know what to do with it yet, and that happens to me more than you might think. Sometimes a design will sit with me for months or even years before the inspiration finally arrives and tells me what it is supposed to become.

Why is this design backwards for me?

Everything I make starts with the stone, always. I buy the stones first and let them tell me what the design should be, and only then do I think about metal and finishings. With the Worry Fish it went the other way around, because the first thing I knew for certain was the material. I didn't want any stainless steel and I didn't want anything plated, so every fish is solid gold or solid sterling silver.

So I purchased the components first, the silver fish and the solid gold fish, each from a different place, and only then did I sit down and start choosing the gemstones, which felt so strange and so fun at the same time.

What sparked the idea?

I tend to get on a hamster wheel in my brain when I start worrying about something or going through something hard, and I try to think my way out of it, which isn't impossible, but it can keep me spinning for a long time. One day my vendor showed me some solid sterling silver fish, and in that moment I remembered the gold fish I had been holding onto for two years, and it was like a divine spark of inspiration that came to me and downloaded into my brain all at once, if that makes sense.

I acted on it right away, which is how I approach all of my designs and how I pick out gems too. When I feel that immediate connection or an idea that lights me up inside, I go for it, and this one felt like my own from the very first moment, because it is my own. I have learned that what feels a certain way to me usually resonates with you too.

How do you use a Worry Fish?

I know myself, and when I am wearing a strand I will almost always reach up and fiddle with it without even thinking. So I wanted to give that habit a place to land. When you are in one of those moments where your brain is on the hamster wheel trying to think its way out of a problem, you can reach for the fish, run your thumb over it, take a breath, and let it ground you right where you are. It isn't about pretending the worry isn't there, it is about having something small and real in your hand that brings you back to this moment, where you are okay.

Which stones are on the Worry Fish strands?

Because the stones came second this time, I let myself play, and each round has its own mix. Tourmaline has been part of the Worry Fish since the beginning, which feels right since that is where the fish first started for me, and it is a stone that grows in more colors than almost any other gem, sometimes with several colors in a single crystal, which is why a multi tourmaline strand looks like a little handful of every jewel tone at once. The second round was sparked by a vivid pink tourmaline I found at a gem show, and that pink is still one of my favorites on a gold fish.

The garnets have joined in too, from the warm cinnamon glow of hessonite garnet to the deep red of pyrope garnet, and in the latest round I added chrome diopside, a bright forest green stone that gets its color from chromium, and it looks so fresh against a silver fish.

Gold fish or silver fish?

Both are solid metal, so it really comes down to what you love to wear and what the stone looks best with. The warm stones like the pinks and the garnets glow next to gold, and the greens and cooler colors feel so crisp with silver, but honestly there is no wrong answer, and if you are torn between two I am always happy to send you a video of both so you can see them side by side.

The Worry Fish swimming in the shop right now

You can see every one of them together on the Worry Fish page, and if a question comes up, or you want to see one in different light, just send me a message, I would love to hear from you.

Brittany

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