Umbilical cord jewellery is the accessories trend you didn’t see coming

Forget letter necklaces or monogrammed phone cases, umbilical cord jewellery has arrived and it’s the personalised accessories trend you didn’t see coming.

The avant-garde look allows mothers to keep their newborns close by in the form of jewellery with the umbilical cord stump placed in everything from rings to necklaces.

When the umbilical cord is cut, a piece is left attached to the baby’s belly that usually falls off within 7-21 days post birth. That little bit that falls off is the stump that is made into the unique pieces of jewellery.

Instead of letting it disappear into the atmosphere, Florida-based jeweller, Ruth Avra, decided to create a way to make the precious memories of the early days of motherhood last forever.

The idea came to her after she and her best friend welcomed baby boys at around the same time.

"I put both stumps next to each other on the table. Lightning bolts struck and I had a plan,” Avra told The New York Post.

"It (the jewellery) represents the connection between mother and child because it’s literally the physical connection that is between you."

Avra creates the pieces using a process called lost wax casting, a method of metal casting in which a molten metal is poured into a wax mould that later melts and is drained away.

The result is elegant jewellery that can be purchased online from the designer’s website for just under $300.

The innovative trend has caused a somewhat sartorial stir on social media.

"When you’re scrolling through your FB feed and see one story about people turning umbilical cord stumps to jewellery, you know you’ve had enough internet for the day," commented one Twitter user.

"Umbilical cord jewellery? No. Just no. Yuck," posted another.

However, others can’t seem to get enough.

"Amazing stuff you are doing Ruth," commented an Instagram user.

"How can I buy one! I saved the stump," exclaimed another Instagram aficionado.