One of the most enduring pieces of jewelry is, apparently, the charm bracelet. When looking back at the Italian charm sensation of the ‘90s, we discovered that the wrist adornment has been around in some form since ancient times. Over the years, the concept has largely remained the same — a bracelet with personalized charms representing the wearer. If you’re a girl, it’s likely you’ve owned some form of a charm bracelet at some point in your life, whether because your mom thought you should have one, or because it was actually, like, so in style.
It’s no surprise that charms have remained a mainstay throughout history — everyone loves to sport some sort of fashion or jewelry that really represents them. So how have charm bracelets changed over the years? Let’s take a look back.
Prehistoric Times
Back in the ancient times, charms weren’t really worn on bracelets, but rather more likely in necklace form or carried in a pouch. These charms were less about fashion or adornment, and more about protection — you know, a talisman to ward off an angry spirit or something. And while today’s charms are made from silver and gold, these ancient charms were more likely handmade, carved from wood, bone, or stone, with maybe a gemstone or two thrown in.
600 to 400 BC
Yep, we’re still pretty old here, but the main difference between this BC period and the truly prehistoric times were that charms started to be worn on bracelets. These charms were small and often attached to leather cords that would be looped around the wrist. Archaeologists have uncovered these charms in what would be ancient Assyria, Babylon, and Persia.
Roman Empire - 27 BC – 476 AD
During Roman times, early Christians would often wear small charms in the shape of a fish to denote their faith — during this period, Christians were often persecuted for their faith, so they had to find a sort of secret handshake in the form of charm bracelets to show each other they were on the same team.
Also during this time period, Jewish people would wear small charms around their necks that had been inscribed with Jewish law. The purpose was to keep their faith close to their hearts.
The Victorian Age - 1837 - 1901
Queen Victoria, ruler of Great Britain from 1837 to 1901, was a big fan of charm bracelets, and is credited with bringing them into fashion again around the late 1870s after a period of being out of favor. She would not only wear them, but also give them as personalized gifts to the European elite. It was at this time that the bracelets started to transform from being spiritual and superstitious to fashion symbols, particularly for the wealthy to show off.
Tiffany and Co. - 1889
In 1889, Tiffany and Co. created what has become their trademark piece of jewelry — their simple yet iconic charm bracelet. As you can see from the dates, this was right around the same time as Queen Victoria was sharing charm bracelets, so it’s possible Tiffany and Co. was trying to get in on that trend. The Tiffany bracelet features a chain with a single heart-shaped charm, and is still sold to this day.
Post World War II - 1940s - 1960s
When soldiers started coming home from World War II, they brought some charms with them from wherever they had been stationed as charms were an easy, small item to bring home to their sweethearts. This time period, all the way up through the 1960s, saw a boom in charm bracelets with mothers passing their love for the jewelry down to their daughters. Charms of this era were often used to commemorate life milestones, vacations, or hobbies. These charms had to be taken to a jeweler to be welded onto the bracelet, so once you got one on, it was pretty much on there for good.
Italian Charms in the 1990s
Charm bracelets fell out of favor for a while, but saw another uptick in popularity in the 1990s with the introduction of the Italian charm bracelet. This new style of charm bracelet was made of a series of linked squares on a stretchy band. Instead of having to go to a jeweler to replace charms, the wearer could easily do it themselves, making them much more accessible.
The Pandora Era Begins in the 2000s
Though the Pandora company had been around since the 1980s, it wasn’t until the year 2000 that they launched their first charm bracelet concept in the Danish market. Consumers quickly embraced their style of bracelet, which was soon introduced in the United States in 2003. Pandora charms are round and bead-like, though some have dangly parts as well, and give the wearer the ability to quickly add new charms to their circular wire bracelet.
The Charm Bangle of the Mid-2000s
In the mid-2000s, a new type of charm bracelet appeared — the charm bangle. These bracelets feature a small number of dangling charms from an expandable wristlet, with the idea that you can wear a bunch stacked on top of each other to show off your personality. You can easily add additional charms to this bracelet, so if you’d prefer to have one charm bangle with a bunch of charms to show off your style, that’s totally cool too.
As you can see, charm bracelets are here to stay! What was/is your charm bracelet of choice? Do you have a charm in particular that you love(d) the most? How many different types of charm bracelets do you own? Let us know in the comments!
- Pandora started as a jewelry import business — founders Per and Winnie Enevoldsen would travel to Thailand to find jewelry to bring back and sell in Denmark. In 1989, they started to manufacture their own jewelry in Thailand, and to this day that is where they produce their charms.
- Alex and Ani is the company most known for charm bangles, and carries the patent for the expandable bracelet design.
- When Queen Victoria’s beloved Prince Albert died, she created a special mourning charm bracelet to remember him by, which included a locket with a photo of him inside, a lock of his hair, and other mementos of their life together.
- Why did Christians use the fish as their charm of choice? The Greek word for fish, “Ichthys” was an acronym for “Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ” which means “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour” in English.
- The iconic Tiffany charm bracelet with the single heart charm costs $400 as of early 2021. We tried to find what it originally sold for when it first came out in 1889, but had no luck tracking that down. If you know, give us a shout in the comments!
- Pandora started as a jewelry import business — founders Per and Winnie Enevoldsen would travel to Thailand to find jewelry to bring back and sell in Denmark. In 1989, they started to manufacture their own jewelry in Thailand, and to this day that is where they produce their charms.
- Alex and Ani is the company most known for charm bangles, and carries the patent for the expandable bracelet design.
- When Queen Victoria’s beloved Prince Albert died, she created a special mourning charm bracelet to remember him by, which included a locket with a photo of him inside, a lock of his hair, and other mementos of their life together.
- Why did Christians use the fish as their charm of choice? The Greek word for fish, “Ichthys” was an acronym for “Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ” which means “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour” in English.
- The iconic Tiffany charm bracelet with the single heart charm costs $400 as of early 2021. We tried to find what it originally sold for when it first came out in 1889, but had no luck tracking that down. If you know, give us a shout in the comments!
2 thoughts on “Charm Bracelets: The Lasting Jewelry Sensation”
I have 5 total bracelets
My 2 sterling silver charm bracelets from the ‘60’s are being stripped of dated charms (Princess phone!), rebalanced with new clasps and will be Christmas presents for my 2 grand-nieces.