6 Step Process


	1 - Select an appropriate tooth. This first step is important, to avoid problems down the road. For the sake of appearance, you will likely want a tooth that is relatively symmetrical (left-to-right). More important though, an asymmetrical tooth (or one with a large chunk of missing root on one side), may not hang straight. Also, avoid a tooth that is wider than it is long. Wide, short teeth have a high "center of gravity," also creating difficulties getting the tooth to hang straight.

	2 - Clean the tooth as needed. Remove all algae, other organic material, hardened on dirt, sand or other debris. If there is an extensive amount of hard matrix adhering to the tooth, consider selecting another. The work to remove it, without damaging the tooth, may be more extensive than you realize.

	3 - Adhere the ring with a permanent adhesive. We experimented with nearly a dozen different adhesives before finding the one that did the job and was relatively easy to work with. This process actually consists of at least 3 steps, developed over the course of making thousands of pendants.

	4 - Harden the tooth with a special preservative solution. The right solution is important, because it needs to soak quickly and thoroughly into the tooth. Avoid water based solutions, which do not create a permanent result and can actually grow bacteria, if organic based. A shark tooth with a light colored root may experience slight darkening because of the treatment, but because lighter roots tend to be more fragile, hardening is very important.

	5 - Polish the crown of the tooth. The root, which is not polished, will appear slightly more glossy than natural, because of the preservative solution. The truth is, most teeth come out of the ground in such good condition, the blade requires very little polishing (if any). That glossy blade may be just the way it was when it was dug up.

	6 - Attach the tooth to a piece of jewelry. We can use either your jewelry or something that you have chosen from our available options.