Archive for bracelets
Bracelets and bangles
Posted by: | CommentsBracelets and bangles, jewellery to wear on your arm. Vintage bracelets are a popular choice but which should you choose?
Bracelets are any piece of jewellery you wear on your wrist, a bracelet can be flexible or solid. A bangle is a special form of bracelet which is solid, it either hinges open or it is completely solid and it slips over the hand. The advantage of a bangle which hinges open is that it will fit closer on your wrist than one which has to slip over your hand.
Gold charm bracelet
Both bangles and bracelets can be made of a variety of materials but the most popular are silver and gold. They can both be decorated with gemstones, be left plain, enamelled, be engraved or have charms added to them. Bracelets can be worn singly or multiple bracelets on either one or both wrists. It was a Victorian fashion to wear a matching pair of bracelets one on each wrist.
Bracelets and bangles come in a small range of sizes as wrist sizes do not vary quite as much as finger sizes do. The average size is 18.5 cms or 7.5 inches. This will fit most wrists except very small or large and most bracelets are this length. You can find them varying from between 17 cms ( about 6.67 inches) and 24 cms ( about 9.42) inches. The smallest size would fit a very slim lady or teenager. The largest size would be for a man.
AntiquesAvenue offers a great range of antique and vintage bracelets and bangles including vintage silver bangles, charm bracelets, tennis bracelets and antique Victorian bracelets too.
Citrine Bracelet
Silver bangle
Silver bangles are one of the most popular types of vintage bracelet. They come with engraved decoration and can be quite fancy like this buckle bangle with hinges open. This particular piece is from the Victorian era.
How to open a charm bracelet
Posted by: | CommentsNow this may seem simple to those of you who have been collecting and wearing vintage charm bracelets for some time. Recently I have had two customers receive their silver charm bracelets and then not know how to open them. The little heart shaped padlocks can be quite a puzzle unless you know the trick to them.
These heart padlocks do not normally come with a key, in fact it is extremely rare to find a charm bracelet padlock. I’ve only had one in over ten years.
Open padlock
Take a look at this heart padlock closed and open. Do you see the tiny leaver to the side – I’m pointing to it in the second photo.
Latch on padlock
You squeeze this little leaver towards the loop . You do not press it into the heart but sideways towards the loop. This action releases the catch which then articulates upwards.
Top close the heart padlock just lightly push it back into place , it will snap into the lock.
So for those of you new to vintage charm bracelets, I hope you now know how to open and close them.
Padlock in place
I believe that AntiquesAvenue offers the best selection of Vintage silver Charms bracelets available anywhere 0n the Internet. There are some great silver vintage charms and gold charms and bracelets too. The gold charm bracelets normally fasten with padlocks just like these silver ones.
Bracelets and bangles – vintage jewellery for your arm
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bangles
What do you call jewellery you wear on your arm or wrist? There does seem to be a wide variety of terms: bracelet, bangle, torque, arm ring, slave bracelet, chain, charm bracelet, bangle bracelet, cuff ?
Here is how I think they go:
Bracelet:Flexible perhaps links or some type of flexible material. Worn round the wrist
Bangle:Fixed and rigid metal . Worn round wrist. Can hinge open or just slip over hand
Armlet/ Armilla / Armill: Worn on the upper arm in classical times
Cuff: A wide bangle may be tapered to fit arm shape being wider at top and narrower at wrist
Slave Bracelet: bracelets and rings worn together joined by a chain
Slave Bangle: Narrow Bangles worn on the upper arm
Torque / torc: Celtic style upper arm ring, having two open ends with decorative finials
Charm Bracelet: Any bracelet with a number of decorative charms suspended from it
Charm Bangle : any bangle with a number of decorative charms suspended from it
Can you think of any more for me to add here?
Did you know that Victorian ladies often worn their bracelets in pairs? One went round each wrist.
