So what are European Charm Bracelets I hear you all ask? Well they are charm bracelets made up from beads. Not to be confused with bead bracelets I should say, and please see my earlier posts on seed bead bracelets etc if you are interested in them! No, these beads tend to be made from silver and occasionally made from gold and other metals with the odd bit of ceramic or stone thrown in for a little sparkle. There is no reason why you couldn’t use wooden beads or any other type of bead for that matter, but from my limited research only silver and precious metal charms seem to be associated with European Charm Bracelets, how very European!

As beads all these little silver charms have a hole in the middle and are thus added to a string style bracelet (you can get solid silver string style bracelets quite readily nowadays). Obviously you should know by now that I’m not a big fan of this type of charm bracelet – read my earlier comments on Pandora charm bracelets for example. That said, a charm bracelet is a charm bracelet and they are all pretty damn good in my books, by why call them European? I think we should fight back, where’s the stars and stripes charm bracelet when you need it? So the gauntlet is down, for any budding young American entrepreneurs (damn these Europeans, they even change our vocab) to invent a new style of charm bracelet, an American Charm Bracelet…

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