The Blu Print: Charmed, I am Sure

It all started when I saw Linda’s (jnldesigns) beautiful pink charm bracelet. It is so feminine and delicate; especially all the filigree work.

I had just finished my own charm bracelet using up some of my stashed lampwork beads and some antique copper chain.

Being in a charming mood, I decided to create a charm bracelet collection for this week’s collection contest on Artfire LInk. I collected the bracelets from the Checked In Today! guild members for this collection.

Charmed I am Sure

Curated By: bluemorningex...

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

Since I have been pondering a subject title for my monthly JCUIN blog post, I decided on the charm bracelet.

The traditional charm bracelet consists of memories wired to a chain that is worn around the wrist. My charm bracelet was started when I was 9 or 10 and consists of charms that were given to me as momentous events in my life happened. They were also a part of my gifts from family as I was growing up. I have horses, horse shoes, mustard seed, my dad’s baby ring, graduation, sweet 16, state charms from states I visited, hearts and all types of other symbols of growing up.

The history of they charm bracelet may surround the warding off of evil. Amulets and other trinkets were used to protect the wearer. 75,000 years ago African shells were part of the first charm bracelets found. The Germans carved mammoth tusks into decorative charms over 30,000 years ago. Christians wore fish charms to identify themselves to other Christians during the Roman Empire. The Egyptians used them to identify themselves to the gods they worshipped. Around 600 BC, Persian women were wearing charm bracelets.

They became quite the trend once Queen Victoria started wearing them. She made it fashionable for the upper class of England to wear a charm bracelet. It was a symbol of nobility. She gave them as gifts and she popularized the creation of charms to symbolize events in one’s life. When Prince Albert died, she created a mourning charm with a locket of his hair. She also popularized small portrait charms.

Tiffany set the charm bracelet in motion. They hung a simple heart from a chain and called it a charm bracelet. This bracelet is the symbol of Tiffany today, and it was the start of the modern trend.

The Great Depression brought us platinum and diamonds to the charm bracelet. Liz Taylor and Joan Crawford made the charm bracelet very popular in the 50s and 60s.

Once again, we are seeing a resurgence of the traditional charm bracelet made popular by The Pirates of the Caribbean. The Bradford Exchange showcased a charm bracelet with the Black Pearl along with photos of Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp. Good enough for me!

We also have the Pandora bracelet and Italian charms.

The charm of these bracelets is not lost on the designers of the Jewelry Creators Unite in Numbers (JCUIN) guild members as they use the charm as the main interest point of these creations.