Handmade Bracelet Is Part of Neiman Marcus’ Fantasy

New York--There is a piece of jewelry included in the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book fantasy gifts list this year, though it’s not what might come to mind immediately when one dreams of fantastical jewels.

Rather than some extravagant piece of fine jewelry or a trip with a manufacturer or designer, it is a $25 handmade bracelet that gives back.

The Akola bracelet is part of a fantasy gift that’s a reimagined version of one that appeared in the book in 1970.

The original “Optimist and Pessimist” gift set offered a fully stocked ark--complete with animals, a French chef and a Park Avenue physician--for just $855,000 for the pessimist, and an oak sapling (with the idea that it would eventually grow into something beautiful) for just $10 for the optimist.

While Neiman Marcus didn’t get any takers on the ark, a fact that probably doesn’t surprise most of us, they did sell a lot of the saplings.

This year’s reinterpretation for the book’s 90th anniversary features a bracelet that gives back for the optimist and a king-sized mattress with a camouflaged lockbox for the pessimist.

The optimist can invest in the future with the purchase of an Akola bracelet for $25, featuring hand-rolled paper beads in black or white, a recycled-glass bead and two accent disks plated in 18-karat gold.

With the purchase of an Akola bracelet, Neiman Marcus will donate $25 to the Akola Project, a nonprofit organization that empowers marginalized women to become agents of change in their families and communities around the world.

Meanwhile, for the pessimist who’s always planning for any eventuality, there’s a $25,000 mattress by Gingerich Built/Monterey Mattress with a fire-proof and impenetrable lockbox built inside to store valuables.

While it’s not unusual for jewelry to appear in the Fantasy Gifts section, this year’s selection is very toned down compared to years’ past.

Last year’s fantasy list included a seven-day trip through Florence and Venice with jewelry designer Ippolita Rostagno with a $150,000 price tag, and in 2014, the book included a custom-made locket designed in collaboration with Monica Rich Kosann for $100,000.

In addition to the Akola bracelet, there are many other jewelry items in this year’s Christmas Book, including a Tahitian pearl necklace from Assael for $13,200; an 18-karat white gold bracelet with 74 carats of diamonds ($500,000); and a 7.95-carat Paraiba tourmaline and diamond ring ($222,000), both from Diana M. Jewels; an 18-karat gold necklace