As time passed, charms diminished in religious significance and became fashion jewelry instead. The Victorians of the 1890′s spurred a renaissance of charms, due to their love of elaborate and intricate clothing and jewelry. Queen Victoria helped fuel the craze by wearing a charm bracelet of tiny lockets holding family portraits.

A second revival of charm bracelets occured in America in the Second World War era, as soldiers stationed abroad acquired charms as souvenirs from the European cities where they were stationed and brought these trinkets home as presents for wives and girlfriends. The fashion trend continued well into the 1950′s.

Charms have never entirely gone out of vogue, and are becoming increasingly popular today as personal keepsakes in an increasingly mass-produced jewelry market. Popular themes include horoscope signs, birthstone charms, travel souvenirs, and family keepsakes. Many women begin their charms collection when still in childhood, and the charm bracelet grows along with them, reflecting hobbies and experiences. A charm bracelet can hold a tiny replica of a sports trophy, a wedding bouquet, or even lockets holding family photos.

As well, charms are popular gifts because of their affordable cost. An intricate silver charm can be found for less than 10 dollars, though it’s possible to spend 100s of dollars on a 18k gold charm set with gems.

Italian charms, a genre in and of themselves, don’t dangle from a chain like traditional charms. Instead, each pattern is soldered onto a flat link which snaps onto an extensible bracelet. The patterns consist of letters, symbols, pictures, precious gems, or even have enamel pictures painted on them. Charms can be snapped on and off these modular bracelets to come up with new configurations to match different moods and outfits. These bracelets are traditionally manufactured of stainless steel, though the more expensive ones come in 18k gold. Each italian charm is of a standard interchangeable size and the resulting bracelet can be customized to any woman’s wrist; the smallest size holds seventeen or even less links, a medium eighteen, and a large nineteen or even even more.

There are different corporations which make Italian charms, however all brands are supposed to be interchangable on the basic bracelet. The “starter” bracelet of blank links costs around 5 dollars, and on the average charms run 15 dollars and higher. Ironically, China also manufactures a great number of these “Italian” charms, and while they are popular due to their low price, a select few consumers report occasional oddities like reversed images and off-size fit on the standard bracelet.

About the Author

Frank Hague is a self-professed connoiseur of Italian Charm Bracelets. http://www.italian-charm.info http://www.italian-charm-bracelet.info http://www.italian-charms-now.info

Written By: Frank Hague

In ancient China, it was such a big deal that women had small, delicate “moon-shaped” feet (that is, with deep insteps) that an entire custom dedicated to foot-binding was developed. This was extremely painful for the women, but the standards for lovely feet back then helped greatly in setting standards of overall attractiveness; women with small feet were considered noble and aristocratic.

Nowadays we have done away with painful practices, knowing that women’s feet are beautiful naturally. The sensuous instep and curve of the ankles call for accentuating jewelry. This is part of why ankle bracelets are increasingly in demand.

Ankle bracelets — “anklets,” for short — are lightweight and fancy decorations for the feet. Many come with tiny charms, which usually include variants of a favorite symbol, like cats, hearts, stars, and bells — the variety is endless. Bracelets worn on the feet are in fact very similar in make to bracelets worn on the wrists, which is why for many, bracelets and anklets are interchangeable.

For the most part, ankle bracelets are casual accessories: they are best worn on an ordinary day out having fun. Multicolored anklets woven from fibers or threads look great with casual sandals or flip-flops. However, ankle bracelets made of fine-spun gold and silver make a beautiful tandem with fashion shoes, and look great for formal events.
About the Author For more information on jewelry and gemstones, we cordially invite you to visit www.morninglightjewelry.com to pick up your FREE copy of “How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off.” This concise, informative special report reveals almost everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry and gemstones, but were afraid to ask. Get your FREE report at www.morninglightjewelry.com.

Written By: Sam Serio