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A 'charm bracelet' is an item of jewelry worn around the wrist. It carries personal charms: decorative pendants or trinkets which are signifiers of important things in the wearer's life.

Contents

Charm Bracelet History

Italian charm bracelets

References

Charm Bracelet History

The wearing of charms may have begun as a form of amulet to ward off evil spirits or bad luck.
In ancient Egypt charms were used for identification and as symbols of faith and luck. Charms also served to identify an individual to the gods in the afterlife. Medieval knights wore charms for protection in battle. Charms also were worn in the dark ages to represent family origin, religious and political convictions.
Charm bracelets have been the subject of several waves of trends. Queen Victoria wore charm bracelets that started a fashion among the European noble classes. Soldiers returning home after World War II brought home trinkets made by craftsmen local to the area where they were fighting to give to loved ones, American teenagers in the 1950s collected charms to record the events in their lives. Although interest and production waned through the latter part of the 20th century, collectors eagerly sought out vintage charms. Due to the movie Pirate Of The Caribbean, the fashion in winter 2006 is bracelets with little charms of swords, crosses and skulls.

Italian charm bracelets

Main articles: Italian charm bracelet

In 2001, a new fashion was launched for Italian charm bracelets, in which the charms are snapped onto the body of the bracelet rather than dangled from it. Italian charms are flat, modular links that hook together to form an Italian charm bracelet, keychain, or other accessories. While traditional charms dangle, Italian charms feature individual pieces soldered flat onto the surface of the link. Some high fashion names such as Louis Vuitton and Juicy Couture have begun issuing their own collectible Italian charms.

References

★ History of Charms and Charm Bracelets

★ About.com: Italian charm bracelets

★ Website with meanings of popular charms

★ Example (picture) of a Charm bracelet containing ancient Chinese coins, yellow jade, rose quartz and green Jade