Honouring the First Bond: Why Mums Choose Umbilical Cord Jewellery

The physical connection between a mum and her baby in the first nine months is the umbilical cord. An Umbilical Cord Keepsake is a beautiful way to honour a physical piece of that connection to keep your baby with you at all times.

The Sentiment: Why Keep the Umbilical Cord?

The umbilical cord is the literal lifeline between a parent and baby. Once it falls off, many parents feel a sense of loss or don’t know what to do with the “stump.” It doesn’t look that pretty by itself and often sits unseen in a box. We can transform a teeny piece of your baby into something that signifies the beginning of life. Whether you’re the baby’s mum, dad, birthing person or a friend and family member, you can order yourself or a loved one a piece of jewellery here at Tree of Opals.

Umbilical Cord Keepsake – A Celebration of Strength

Our bodies do an incredible job to sustain life. Some families choose to keep a lock of hair, or a scan photo but the umbilical cord is an actual connection from a baby to the body that brings them into the world. Mums, surrogates and all birthing people are sacred and amazing for this life-giving journey. The umbilical cord stump is like a little biological record of that specific child.

We turn the “Earthly” into “Ethereal”. Umbilical cord jewellery can be done with a whole piece of umbilical cord and we’ve tried out that aesthetic (and with the cord wrapped in gold leaf) but Nikki never liked the look. Instead we choose to grind the pieces into flecks that are added to Japanese UV resin by themselves or with a sparkle mix etc. By themselves they vary in colour like natural shades of wood, from olive to mahogony.

Pairing the cord with resin sparkle mix, breastmilk, hair, or birthstones for a multi-inclusion piece looks amazing too:

The Process: Professional, Clean, and Easy

You can have confidence in the safety and preservation we use. First of all we’ll send you a completely free sending kit with your name and order number. If you’re sending more than one kit, let us know the babies’ names and we’ll add them to the pots. When you post it back you’ll give us the tracking number to log and you can check your account for updates any time of day or night.

• The Collection Kit: Tree of Opals makes it easy for tired new parents to send their inclusions safely.
• Drying and Grinding: The cord must be fully dried; usually clients send us the cord stump, but if you’re using cord from the placenta side please dehydrate first. We’ll professionally grind into a fine powder or small flakes.
• Preservation: Guaranteeing the piece won’t change colour or degrade over time.

Conclusion: A Gift for the Future

This isn’t just for a mother; it’s a story to tell the child one day about their first connection to the world. Our keepsakes are heirloom grade pieces that, if properly cared for, will last a lifetime. We use solid silver, gold filled and solid gold and our pieces are handmade in a small workshop by mums.

Did You Know?
When set in resin, umbilical cord material often takes on a beautiful “honey” or “amber” hue, making it look more like a precious gemstone than another biological inclusion like cremation ashes.

Why Mums Choose Keepsake Jewellery:
* Honour the Journey: A symbol of the “Fourth Trimester.”
* Artistic Preservation: A beautiful way to store a memory that usually sits in a baby box.
* Totally Unique: Just like your baby’s DNA, no two pieces ever look the same!

Nikki’s Umbilical Cord YouTube Tutorials

Learn how to make cord and placenta jewellery with our tutorials here. Nikki has been leading the industry for over a decade and other artists pay to learn from her. This is our cord and placenta tutorial playlist if you’re interested in how they’re made!