BLADE — the Story of the Form

By Dmitry Strugovshchikov, founder of STRUGA

BLADE is the second form of STRUGA: a chain link made of two halves joined on copper pins and soldered into one. Its even planes read as if the link were cut from a flat sheet. STRUGA calls this the CNC aesthetic — a look, not a method: in this family only carbon is cut on a machine. Eighteen pieces carry the form today, from the 0.3 g Classic Graphite ear cuff to the 98.37 g Blade Mini Links V.1 Choker.

Updated October 26, 2026

A BLADE link is built in two halves. They meet on copper pins, the joint is soldered, and the seam stays in view: the pins show on the silver as rows of warm dots. Everything else in the link is plane and edge. For the international market, STRUGA objects are made in Bali, and that is where these links are assembled.

What does the CNC aesthetic mean in silver jewelry?

STRUGA uses the term CNC aesthetic for the look of an object that seems to have been machine-cut from a flat sheet: sharp edges, even planes, recessed depth. STRUGA brought that look into its design with its first form, SIGNATURE ASYMMETRIC; BLADE is the second.

CNC stands for computer numerical control: a computer runs a machine tool automatically, following a program (Wikipedia’s article on computer numerical control). A sheet worked on such a machine ends up with a crisp edge, a flat plane and a recess.

The silver link is not cut on a machine. It is cast from a model and finished by hand; the section on assembly below shows how. From CNC the link takes the look, not the method. For STRUGA, BLADE is a CNC aesthetic in silver.

A machine does work in the family, though — on carbon, which is cut on a CNC machine from sheet material. In the three BLADE pieces with carbon — the Classic Graphite and Arctic Graphite ear cuffs and the Blade Fused Mini Line Bloody earring — CNC is both the look and the method. On the cut edge of a carbon cuff the layers show as fine stripes.

How was the BLADE form born?

The story of BLADE is as spare as the form itself: first a link, then a chain. Links joined into a chain grew into the brand’s first massive bracelet. The family inherited three things from that first bracelet:

Next, the form moved across the body. The link came in two sizes, Mini Links and Big Links: mini links went into women’s bracelets, chains and chokers, big links into large men’s bracelets. Thinner, lighter versions followed, for bracelets with a toggle clasp.

Then the form left the chain. The head of the Blade Pin is half of a mini link; the pin lives in four earrings and a necklace, and the Blade Pins bracelet is built from pin-shaped links. The whole link came off the chain and went onto the ear, which is how the earring and the ear cuff appeared. In the Blade + BearRabbit earring, the BearRabbit body repeats the same link.

The brand’s first two ear cuffs belong to this early history as well: one was made in the BLADE form, the other in the SIGNATURE ASYMMETRIC form.

How is a BLADE link made?

A silver link goes through four steps, from model to hand finishing.

1. Model: carved in wax by hand, or built in 3D and printed.
2. Silicone mold and 925 silver: the silver is cast from the model.
3. Assembly: the two halves of the link meet on copper pins and are soldered into one.
4. Finishing: the surface and the joint are worked by hand, link by link.

The joint is not polished away: the copper of the pins stays in view and shows how the link was made. Because every link is assembled and finished by hand, two pieces of the same model can differ slightly in weight; a small difference in grams is a trace of that handwork.

How do Mini Links differ from Big Links?

Mini Links and Big Links are one form in two sizes, not two different links. The difference reads on the body rather than on paper: the mini link traces a line, the big one adds weight and volume. Between them sits the medium link, which lives in the Blade Medium Links V.2 bracelet: the same build on copper pins and a toggle clasp.

Mini Links — the most common link

The mini link is the working unit of the family. As a complete link, it appears in the Blade Mini Links bracelet, the Blade Mini Links V.1 choker, the Blade Mini Link earring and the Blade Link Small necklace. The lighter version is the Blade Mini Links V.2 bracelet: slimmer links and a toggle clasp.

Big Links — weight and volume

Today one bracelet holds the big link, Blade Big Links; it closes with the Carabiner #2 Big.

What does the BLADE family hold today?

The BLADE form lives in bracelets, chains, chokers, a pin, an earring and an ear cuff — in three places on the body:

• on the wrist — chain bracelets of mini, medium and big links, and the Blade Pins bracelet;
• at the throat — a choker and two necklaces;
• on the ear — earrings and ear cuffs.

The Blade Pin turns up in all three: on the ear, at the throat and on the wrist.

For STRUGA the silver chain is a carrier, and the link on it changes. In BLADE it is an even plane in mini, medium and big links; in SIGNATURE ASYMMETRIC, the asymmetric silhouette of the first form; in the beaded chains with the Heart Lock clasp, the heart of the SIGNATURE HEART family. The Carabiner #2 Big that closes BLADE chains itself carries the SIGNATURE ASYMMETRIC form: the brand’s first two forms meet in one object.

A piece can belong to more than one family and world. The three pieces with carbon also belong to the CARBON family of the RITUAL world, while the four pin earrings, the Blade Pin Necklace and the Blade + BearRabbit earring also sit in EXPERIMENTAL, in the LAB world. Apart from the three carbon pieces, the whole family is silver with no stones and no inserts.

How many pieces carry the BLADE form today?

As of October 16, 2026, the BLADE form is carried by eighteen pieces in the catalog. Earrings take the largest share; bracelets and ear cuffs follow, and there is one choker.

The ear took the form most readily: earrings and ear cuffs make up more than half of the family. Sizing for the wrist is a separate question, and the brand answers it in the bracelet sizing guide rather than here.

How much does a BLADE piece weigh and cost?

The heaviest BLADE piece weighs more than three hundred times as much as the lightest: 98.37 g for the Blade Mini Links V.1 Choker at 50 cm against 0.3 g for a carbon ear cuff.

Prices run from $95 for the carbon ear cuff to $3,128 for the Blade Mini Links V.1 Choker at 50 cm. Every piece is made to order, in two to four weeks and often faster.

How does the BLADE form live on the body?

On the wrist, the BLADE chain moves link by link, and every link keeps its flat planes. The large carabiner belongs to the same construction: it does not hide behind the chain but closes it in plain view.

At the throat the same chain runs to choker length. The carabiner on the Blade Mini Links V.1 is the biggest element of the composition: the eye finds it first, the chain second.

How does the form sit on the ear?

On the ear the form reads in three ways. The Classic Pin hangs below the lobe, the Mini Link earring sits close to the ear, and the ear cuff needs no piercing at all.

Two of the three BLADE cuffs are carbon, the Classic Graphite and the Arctic Graphite: the same stepped outline of the link, in the brand’s own carbon palettes.

What does the surface do over time?

The even planes of BLADE are where the surface speaks. Living Silver is STRUGA’s term for 925 silver without rhodium plating: it arrives bright and darkens on the hand. Friction lightens the raised edges, the recesses turn black, and the piece shows how it is worn.

The dark layer is silver sulfide. It forms when silver meets sulfur-containing gases in the air, above all hydrogen sulfide; on sterling silver it also holds copper sulfide from the alloy (Canadian Conservation Institute). Sterling means at least 925 parts of pure silver per thousand: the FTC’s Jewelry Guides call it deceptive to sell silver below that as sterling (16 CFR § 23.5). In STRUGA’s silver, the remaining 75 parts are copper.

The beauty of this silver is in the traces of handwork: slight unevenness is part of the object, not a flaw.

One form, from a chain link to a whole family of objects. View the BLADE family →

How does BLADE differ from the other CODEX families?

CODEX is the world of the everyday architectural form, the DNA of the brand. Rather than observing the world, it works as a workshop of forms: STRUGA creates a form that did not exist before and carries it across different types of pieces, from a chain link to a pendant, from a carabiner to an earring. CODEX has no stones and no inserts, only pure uncoated silver that oxidizes as it meets the outside world.

The CODEX world holds five families, and BLADE is the second of them both by the order in which the forms appeared and by the number of pieces. SIGNATURE ASYMMETRIC came first and is still the largest; BLADE follows, and the other three are smaller.

What separates the families is the task the form solves. Two of the five began with a chain link, BLADE and THORN. In THORN the link became a thorn with sharp angles; in BLADE it stayed an even plane of two halves on copper pins, a repeating part that spreads easily across bracelets, chains and chokers.

To see a whole BLADE mini link up close, start with the Blade Link Small Necklace.

Where can I buy BLADE?

STRUGA pieces for the international market are handcrafted in Bali and ship worldwide from the island. A BLADE piece is made to order, in two to four weeks and often faster; delivery takes about a week on top of that, and shipping terms are confirmed at checkout.

Order at strugadesign.com. To see a piece first, visit an official partner: in Bali, Hedonist Store and Barefoot Aristocracy in Canggu (STRUGA has no store of its own on the island); in Dubai, Poison Drop at Dubai Hills Mall; in Phuket, Soul Mate. Each store has its own selection, so confirm the piece and size before you go.

Addresses and details are on the Where to buy STRUGA page.