All about charm bracelets

Upon reading in my late grandmother Vivian's European travel journal that she purchased some charms for her charm bracelet, I became very curious about this type of jewelry. I remembered that Vivian, her daughter Linda and her mother Leta all had charm bracelets, as did my mother. They also sought to add charms to them for a period of time in the late 1960s/early 1970s.

My grandmother's charm bracelet.

A charm bracelet is, of course, a metal article of jewelry worn around the wrist. It is comprised of links. The wearer attaches small pendants or trinkets to these links, as many as she collects and the bracelet (or her wrist) can bear. These charms then dangle from the chain bracelet. The trinkets ostensibly have a personal significance for the wearer. She may collect them while on vacation, to signify interest and hobbies, or for some other special reason. My grandmother Vivian, for example, had charms to signify each of her three grandchildren. Leta’s was more decorative, fancier, with pearls. Most of the charms are sterling silver, although other metals, gems and beads are sometimes used.

My great-grandmother Leta's charm bracelet.

Historically charms were adornments used to ward off evil spirits and as protection. In ancient Egypt, for example, charms were used as symbols of faith and luck and to identify an individual to the gods in the afterlife. During the Roman Empire, Christians would use tiny fish charms hidden in their clothing to identify themselves to other Christians. Jewish scholars of the same period would write tiny passages of the Torah and put them in amulets round their necks to keep the law close to their heart at all times. Medieval knights wore charms for protection in battle. Charms also were worn in the Dark Ages to represent family origin, religious and political convictions.

While these charms may not have been on bracelets (some were amulets, pins or necklaces), charm bracelets have been the subject of several waves of trends.

My aunt's charm bracelet.

The modern charm bracelet fad began in England during the late 1800s, when Queen Victoria (1819–1901) began wearing a gold chain with lockets that contained portraits of her family. This transformed the charm bracelet from one of protection to decorative with a personal meaning. Many women copied the queen by hanging glass beads and lockets from their bracelets. Throughout the twentieth century and into today, charm bracelets came into and out of fashion several times. After World War II, soldiers brought home trinkets made by craftsmen local to the area where they were fighting to give to loved ones. In the 1950s and early 1960s, American teenagers collected charms to record the events in their lives. There were resurgences of popularity in 1980 and 2000 with collectors eagerly seeking vintage charms and added an occasional new one. Inspired by to the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, bracelets with little charms of swords, crosses and skulls were introduced as a fashion trend in 2006.

Mom's charm bracelet.

It seems my family was on the tail end of the fad, for according to reports, charm bracelets faded in popularity in the late 1960s-early 1970s. As noted, my grandmother collected several of hers in 1967 in Europe, also adding to her daughter-my aunt’s collection. My mother’s includes charms from a family vacation to Colorado in 1973, as well as one that commemorates our annual vacation week to Houghton Lake in Michigan.