Tracy and Miki
Tracy made contact with Coveted in late 2023 to purchase our impression kit when she knew her lifelong friend Miki was nearing the end of his time with her.
Miki, their 11-year-old Maltese, would have turned 12 in January 2024 and Tracy wanted to capture his nose print in precious metal so she could carry him close forever. Sadly, Miki died in January 2024. Fast forward to June 2025, and after semi-regular contact from Tracy over the previous year, we received Miki’s precious nose impressions via courier and got started on creating an impression necklace in 9ct gold for Tracy.
At Coveted, there are no timeframes or restrictions in place for when you need to return your impressions for casting with us. Sometimes the impressions feel so precious, and they are special keepsakes in themselves.
And we understand that eventually the time will feel right for you to return the impressions and begin planning your impression piece. And if you made a putty impression, we can return this original to you after we have finished making your jewellery.
Here’s what Tracy had to share with us about her life with Miki and her experience with Coveted.
Hi Gemma and team,
I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you. I know it took me far too long to send through Miki’s nose prints and I was really poor at communicating, but I want you to know how much your patience and kindness has meant to me.
Miki passed away in January 2024. I got him when I was 19 – back in 2012; fresh out of high school. My mum had gone back to Australia to care for my aunty who had breast cancer, and – against her wishes – I brought Miki home but he stole her heart once they met in person; just like he did many others. I had no idea what I was doing. I had student money to my name, no car, and would carry him all the way to the vet when he was too tired to walk. He was with me through university, breakups, lockdown, job changes and through the loss of three family members in 18 months.
In 2022, he had an accident and developed glaucoma. We were terrified we were going to lose him, but thankfully he came out the other side with one less eye as little pirate. Less than a year later, we bought a house – we chose one with a fenced yard especially for him – but not long after, he started getting sick. The five months that followed were the hardest of my life.
I was navigating a restructure at work, my partner was working out of Invercargill, and I was caring for Miki on my own as his health deteriorated. He developed arthritis, kidney failure, and eventually toxin-related dementia. We syringe-fed him water and liquid food every day until the very end.
I struggled so much to send off those prints, and in a way avoiding having to face anything related to his passing. I’m usually highly organised, detail-oriented, and on the ball with communication – but grief hit me hard, and avoidance became my coping mechanism. Even opening a message was sometimes too much.
Despite all that, you were nothing but kind, patient, and understanding. The necklace means the world to me – I haven’t taken it off since it arrived. Thank you for handling everything with such compassion and for creating something I will treasure forever.
You’ve given me a way to carry a piece of him with me always. I can’t thank you enough.
With deepest gratitude,
Tracy
There are many ways you can remember your pet. See Miki’s memorial pieces here including air dry clay paw prints, our impression necklace and Miki’s Reterniti stone.
And we are so grateful that Tracy could share this with us. We know through experience that these personal projects can take time and can be hard. For us, it is a reminder that we only get a small glimpse of what our jewellery means to our wearers. And so anything shared with us is taken on board with recognition that this may only be a fraction of the story. And when the time feels right, we will be here to help you start on the next step of creating your piece with sensitivity and respect.