The ABC’s of Italian Charm Bracelet Charms
You have probably heard of a charm bracelet before? They have been around for years, but during the 1990s another type of charm bracelet started to appear on the scenes in the United States. It is called the Italian charm bracelet. Do you know what this is? Do you know how these two types of charm bracelets differ? What do Italian charm bracelet charms look like? In this article we will be exploring the world of the Italian charm bracelet. Welcome, and enjoy…
Italy started the craze for these delightful little pieces of jewelry. From a humble beginning the popularity grew and grew until even soccer stars got into the act. They started to wear Italian charm bracelets with charms depicting the Italian flag. When American tourists spotted these on the streets of Italy, they bought them, and brought them back to the United States. Their popularity has caught on here as well.
The links of an Italian charm bracelet are made from an Italian charm face soldered onto an Italian charm link. These faces are usually comprised of either a design or an image. They differ from a regular charm bracelet charm in that they are flat and modular and hook together nicely. There are over 5000 different designs of Italian charm bracelet charms on sale today, and they range in price from a low of about $3 to $50 per charm.
The size of the Italian charm bracelet will depend on the size of the person’s wrist. Children usually require between 13 – 15 links. Women require about 16 – 19 links. Men, especially those with large wrists, may require 20+ links.
A starter Italian charm bracelet will usually consist of blank links. These links are “place holder” links, and they do not have a design or an image. In order to personalize the bracelet for your own particular tastes, each link is replaced with an individual Italian charm.
Exactly how do all these charms link together? Well, there is a standard sizing across all brands of Italian charms, so they are all compatible with each other, and are interchangeable. The benefit of this is that individual links can be taken out, and put back, to customize your particular mood or statement.
The flexibility due to the Italian charm bracelet means that charms can be grouped together to follow various themes. Popular themes include special events, travel, animals, flowers, career, hobby, family, or even a specific color. These groupings can be made up of photo Italian charms, laser Italian charms, authentic licensed Italian charms, hand-painted Italian charms, dangle Italian charms, and deluxe Italian charms.
The choice of backing for Italian charms is usually stainless steel. To this back is then soldered or glued an 18-karat gold or gold-plated charm face. Sometimes an actual gemstone (or an artificial gemstone on some of the more inexpensive charms) will be added to the design of the charm as well.
Did you enjoy this little summary of Italian charm bracelet charms (and the associated bracelet)? We sure hope so. Although they entered into the mainstream consciousness of the citizens of the United States back in the 1990′s, they are still growing strong. There is no sign of them letting up any time soon.
Learn more about Italian charm bracelet charms. Stop by Betsy Johnson’s site where you can find out all about Horse Jewelry and Italian charms.
