Italian Charm Bracelets 101

The four bracelets I've assembled so far, pardon the flash

OK, on to Italian Modular Charm Bracelets finally. If you haven't seen these, they're stainless steel (and sometimes gold) stretch bracelets with links that can be switched out and customized however you want, and made whatever size you want. The really fun part is the thousands of different charms you can put on them. Most of the charms are flat, like the bracelets, which I love because I hate dangly things. They also make links with dangle charms soldered onto them if you like that sort of thing.

I didn't even know these things existed till a friend of ours, who actually just got back from Italy, was wearing one. He told me to look the maker of his (Zoppini) up on eBay or to go look at the malls, but I'm an eBay person. There are entire categorized sections of eBay devoted to these, the best place to start is in the Modular Italian category. Now there are usually over 50,000 listings in this category, but if you like to browse, it's broken up into smaller subcategories. The easiest thing to do is type in a word to search for (like "halloween") and check out what comes up. There are charms for sale from about a dollar up to $20 or $30, they are usually priced by quality. There are cheap Asian made charms and the nicer, higher quality Italian made charms. Also a number of American made ones. If you'd like them to last a long time go with at least the mid priced ones, expect to pay between $9 and $16 for them.

Now the first mistake I made was when I spent too much money on the base or starter bracelet. It's good to invest in a good quality stainless steel one, but if you end up with a lot of charms you won't even end up needing a bracelet. There are several major Italian and American companies that make them, it's best to pick one that has a brand name as a starter because there's also lots of cheapies. I had some weird idea that the charms fit over the links on the bracelet but they actually replace the links. I bought two bracelets and extra links and now have like 4 bracelets because of all the charms I've bought. The average person needs about 18 total links (including charms) to make one bracelet. The actual blank bracelets themselves, especially the matte ones and colored ones, are attractive on their own in a kind of nice urban way also. BTW, there are actually several different sizes of bracelets, some narrower and wider, but the standard 9mm "medium" sized bracelet is the one that most of the charms are made for.

When you're looking at charms there are several types. The most common are ones with enameled designs on them, then there are laser etched charms, then a variety of homemade ones. There are handpainted, handmade varieties, but be more careful with these, they're often more fragile than the factory made ones. Make sure the links say they are stainless steel and that the charms are soldered on, not glued. You can even get custom etched ones with different words and designs on them, I got one made that says "Morticia" and it looks great.

When you're flipping around looking, if you see something you like, bookmark it and check and see what else the seller has. Most of them will combine shipping on multiple purchase, though many have a 1-5 day limit on when the auctions close. Also, speaking as an eBay seller, PLEASE don't sent more than one Paypal payment, we get charged a fee for each payment sent. But anyway, you'll end up finding specific sellers that have a lot of things you like, but before you start buying, do some searches to see what price other sellers are selling the same charm for. Also, many sellers have eBay stores where they list Buy It Now items so don't overpay for something the seller has 20 more of.

Unless you have really strong fingernails, it's good to have a charm tool to help get the charms on and off of the bracelet. I bought a black plastic Zoppini brand tool, and it works great and doesn't scratch the bracelet when you're pulling and pushing on the links. They run about $6. A lot of sellers will throw in a tool when you buy a starter bracelet also. Once you get the hang of it, it's actually pretty easy to get the charms on and off.

Now that I've bored you to with all this info, let me tell you some of what I've bought so far and give you some good sellers to check out. My charms include:

A glitter Texas flag, an enameled Democratic donkey, a green shamrock, several different cat charms, a tiny gold computer, a gold camera, a motorcycle, a Batman logo, a stack of books, a witch on a broom with a black CZ in the center, a peace sign, two laser paw prints to represent my two dogs who have passed on, a police badge, a police cap, a police car, a pair of handcuffs and a pistol (I used to work in law enforcement). I also have several fleur de lis symbols, a moon and star, a horseshoe, and a teapot and cup. And I've made a Halloween themed bracelet with a jack o'lantern, a black bat, a coffin, an arched black cat, a couple of skulls, a spider web and Snoopy & Woodstock sleeping on a jack o'lantern. And I have a black witch hat, a cauldron, a witch on a broom, and a spooky owl on the way. (Got several of them today!)

These are people I've bought from and had good luck with so far:

For good inexpensive charms check out:
Pugster Inc
Fundamental Advice
Silverstone Direct

For laser engraved & custom charms:
SpectraCharms
Morning.Calm
Parodi Design

For authentic Italian, better quality and licensed charms:
Charming Chick Stuff
cmr3
MommyLuvsToShop
QuiteCharming
Nappi Italian Charms
Kelleyland Kollectibles

Posted by Morticia at October 04, 2003 05:13 AM | TrackBack