Charms have to be attached to bracelets.  And yes, its probably not the most exciting thing in the world, but there try telling me that its not important when one of your prized tiffany charms has fallen off in the street somewhere and has no doubt been run over by a truck by now!  Findings are the small attachments which attach charms to charm bracelets.  Actually I believe technically that jewellery findings is an overarching name for any small intricate pieces of jewellery which are used in the assembly of earrings, pendants, necklaces and the like, but its only really with charm bracelets that I have come across the phenomena.

There are a number of these different ‘findings’ which you can use, and I’ve seen some people invent their own out of all sorts of string, wire, twine etc, but to be honest I don’t think its a long term solution, especially if you value your charms in anyway (plus I think they look daft).  The most common type of attachments for charms are lobster clasps, split rings, jump rings, spring rings or bolt rings.

These all have various benefits and downsides, and I’ll try and take each in turn to address their respective issues.  Firstly Lobster clasps.  Aptly named after their resemblance to a lobster’s pincer, you pull a little trigger back to open the clasp, and you can then attach it to pretty much anything.  Lobster clasps are sturdy and won’t open themselves so you can feel pretty confident that it is not going to loosen over time and drop your charm off.  That said, the sturdiness of them also means they can look clumsy, especially if you like small charms.  You can buy lobster clasps in solid gold and silver, as well as plate.

Split rings are like tiny little keyrings, you have to work the ring around whatever bracelet link you are attaching the charm to just as you would a keyring to a key.  The only problem is if you have a chunky bracelet they can be quite fiddly, and they might not fit at all.  They are quite standard, and most shops and websites will give you free split rings when you but a charm.

Often confused with split rings are jump rings.  These are rings with a little split in them (hence the confusion) which can be bent back to allow something (like a charm) in, then moved back into place to close the loop.  There are issues in that there is nothing keeping the ring shut, and over time they can work themselves open.  Accordingly you can get solder jump rings and no solder jump rings, but if you want to get these rings soldered then you will have to take them to a jeweller most of whom will charge anything up to £15 per charm which, depending on where you buy your charms from, is often considerably more expensive than the charms themselves.  A soldered jump ring is very secure, however, and does not have any of the bulkiness of lobster clasps.

Spring rings and bolt rings are like other varieties of lobster clasp, only circular.  The spring ring has a loaded spring mechanism which you can pull back to put around a bracelet, and the bolt rings a screw mechanism.  Both are secure, with a bolt ring probably being the most secure of the three, but they again suffer from the bulkiness of lobster clasps, and having a dozen of them on a bracelet really does look a bit clumsy.

My advice is go for what you feel looks best, but make sure its a secure option.  Soldered jump rings can be costly, but they are probably the best looking way to securely fasten a charm to a charm bracelet.  There’s no point in scrimping on your findings and if you would choose solid silver charms over plated, then I would say you want to do the same for your findings.  Plating can wear off over time, especially on findings which constantly rub against the other metal components, leading to miscolouring and sometimes rust, and you wouldn’t want that on your charm bracelet would you?

Lots of people make bead bracelets, or use thread as the basis to hang charms on to make up a charm bracelet.  I don’t think there is one definitive type of thread to use on your bead or charm bracelet, it really depends on what you are using it for, how much you are wanting to spend on it, how long it is meant to last etc…

Silk is an expensive thread to use, and sometimes its more tricky to get hold of, but you can normally buy silk thread by the spool in most craft shops or online.  It is commonly used for pearls, although I’m not altogether sure why other than that its a luxury thread and pearls are clearly an expensive and luxurious type of jewellery.  In my experience silk can fray quite easily, making it less reliable than some other types of beading thread, although on the positive side, it does look good which is important if you have large sections of a bracelet in which the thread is on show, and if you are looking for jewellery thread for a necklace then silk is soft on the skin.

For seed beads, and probably for bugle beads and other small beads, nymo or silamide come very highly recommended.  Nymo needs to be waxed, either using bees wax, or you can sometimes buy specialist jewellery wax (watch out you don’t pay too much for this, as bees wax is cheap and works perfectly) for example Thread Heaven.  Silamide comes ready waxes, and comes as a few strands which have been pleated together to form a thread.  This means it is less ideal for beads with a really tiny hole, and it can be difficult to thread through a threading needle.  Both threads come in a whole range of colours and are relatively easy to get hold of from craft shops and online.

Monofilament is probably the first type of thread I used when I started to make my own bead jewellery and charm bracelets.  It is, however, far from ideal.  One of the biggest problems I have with it, is its quite stubborn to shape, and if its stored badly in a jewellery or craft box it can quite often misshapen, and then its almost impossible to get the kinks out.  It is also almost always clear and colourless, which is great if that’s what you want for a bead or charm bracelet, but its not very versatile.

Nylon is a synthetic material (its man made and doesn’t occur naturally like wool for example!).  The big advantage of this of course is it is one of the most resilient forms of jewellery thread, and shouldn’t fray or stretch.  One of the other reasons why I sometimes use Nylon thread when making jewellery is it is readily available in a whole pile of different sizes meaning you can use it with small beads, but if you want something a little more substantial, if say you’re wanting a bead bracelet you can hang some charms off, then you can use a larger thread size no probs!

I think one of the most attractive threads to use when making your own jewellery is leather.  Leather can be weaved and thus can form part of the design of the bracelet itself.  One of the coolest charm bracelets I have seen have a thick leather thread which was pleated, with small charms imbedded in the middle pleat every inch or so, all the way around the bracelet, genius!  Some people are funny about using leather products, which I can kind of understand, but if you want the look then faux leather is the same price, and just as easy to get hold of.  Most craft shops will sell leather thread in different sizes by the metre, but you have to look online if you want a really big selection of colours.

Hemp is another old classic for making bracelets from.  It has a slightly rough potato-sack type texture which is actually quite pleasant, and an “organic” look to it.  I wouldn’t really use hemp alongside modern charms, but it looks great with wooden beads or charms.

Lastly, if you are looking for a really sturdy thread to make a bracelet from, for example if you have big stones or large heavy charms which you want to hang on it, or if you want the bracelet to take on a fixed shape for example, then tiger-tale or coated wire are ideal.  Tiger-tale is essentially coated wire made from a series of tiny wires which are woven together before being covered with wire, sometimes the individual strands are prone to breaking, so its not something I would use for a bracelet.  Coated wire, however, is exactly that, a piece of wire which has been coated in a material.  Depending on the suppleness and thickness of the wire, it may be possible to bend or contort this, and build your bead or charm bracelet design around a wacky shaped bracelet.

So, there is a brief outline, if you are looking to make your own bead or charm bracelet, and not sure what materials will work best as a thread.  There are of course, hundreds of designs of plain bracelets designed specifically for charms, beads, crystals, rhinestones and the like to be hung on them, and hopefully in another post I’ll get a chance to discuss the various merits of them too…

How to make your own charm bracelet, an overview…

Ok well I’ll start with the basics. There are so many different types and varieties of charm bracelet that you could go dizzy just thinking about them. If you want to make your own charm bracelet then its worth having a little think about exactly what it is you’re looking for, the style, the materials (bear in mind that if you want to build up a bracelet with lots of charms, then it could prove quite expensive so its worth taking an opportunity before you begin to think about what you want to use as charms).

Most charm bracelets use a simple bracelet design, either made from a material (hemp is ideal if you want a material charm bracelet) or from metal. Bracelets made from precious metals like silver are not that expensive, and may prove longer lasting. Other ways to get your bracelet are to get a piece of nylon or elastic and add beads to it, hanging the charms in between each bead on the bracelet. Remember if you are using elastic to make your bracelet to ensure it is not too tight as otherwise it could irritate your wrist, and we don’t want that!

Ok, so now you should have a bracelet with no charms on it, think of it as an empty canvas. Its time to choose your charms. Charms can be anything, from gold or sterling silver charms encrusted with diamonds and crystals, to precious stones, to beads, to little figures you have made yourself. I like to see charm bracelets with a splash of colour, either through interesting stones or beads. You can pick up beads online for very little, or from your local art store. Silver, Gold and other designed charms are available at some Highstreet shops (Links of London, Accessorize and a whole pile of others) and vary enormously in price, or are available online (www.thecharmworks.com,www.linksoflondon.com,www.jewelbasket.com etc) and there can be some great deals on ebay (although be aware when buying charms off ebay that they can vary wildly in quality, make sure you buy what you think you are buying!).

There are an almost infinite number of designs of charms, its worth buying those which you feel reflect your character best. Whether that means choosing charms which bring back certain memories, or charms which represent your pet, or even those which remind you of a joke with friends, part of the fun is to gather a collection of charms which is truly personal and that seems to sum you up as an individual.

Some people like to have charm bracelets which are fairly sparse, with only 8 or 9 charms on them. Personally I prefer a charm bracelet which is packed with 17-20 charms. Its important to bear this in mind before you buy your bracelet, as there is no point scrimping on buying a really cheap bracelet made from very thin silver, for example, only to find out that it will only support 8 charms!

Once you have compiled what charms you are going to use, you should work out in what order they should go on the bracelet. I always think that its good to get a variety of sizes, with big charms right next to small ones and so on. Also when deciding what order to put your charms on, remember if you have used initials, or numbers representing a birthday that these are on the right way. I know this sounds obvious, but there is nothing more annoying than putting your charm bracelet together, only to realise that you made a mistake when putting in the initials, and now you have to take it apart and start again!

Now you are ready to attach the charms to your bracelet. Depending on the type of charms you have gone for, methods for this can vary hugely, and I intend to write a short post discussing the different use of clips, rings and hooks which are commonly used, and what in my opinion are the best ones to use. Of course if you are using beads, then commonly these are attached by wire, thread or elasticated thread.

Remember when you do attach your charms to your charm bracelet its important to decide whether you will want to make changes to your charm bracelet in the future, in which case you should make sure that you have attached your charms in a non-permanent manner (e.g. do not use solder).

Charm Bracelets :

www.linksoflondon.com, www.thecharmworks.com, www.jewelbasket.com