Tiffany Inspired Imitation Sterling Silver Elongated Teardrop Bangle Bracelet
This Tiffany-style bangle bracelet is made entirely of solid .925 sterling silver. Buffed and then polished for a high shine, this bracelet is great for every day wear and elegant for dressy affairs.
Bangle Bracelets Sterling Silver JewelryTiffany -esque CZ Encrusted Palm Tree Sterling Silver Bracelet
This Tiffany inspired bracelet is made of solid .925 sterling silver with diamond cz encrusted within the palm tree motif and will fit a 7 inch wrist. The intricate palm tree design wraps around your wrist for a delicate look. A locking closure ensures a secure clasp and the entire bracelet is buffed and polished for a high shine. This bracelet might be comparable to a faux Tiffany, but although this exquisite piece is not a Tiffany, it still has the style and grace fit for a Queen. Perfect for the island lover in you, a fun but fancy piece of jewelry that dazzles and sparkles on your wrist to give that classy, dramatic presence on your wrist.
Bracelets Sterling Silver Jewelry Tiffany jewelryGenuine Turquoise Multi Strands Coral Bracelet with Sterling Silver Clasp
This exquisite multi-strands coral bracelet is made of genuine Turquoise stones. Five strands of hand-strung Turquoise corals are attached to a .925 sterling silver bar clasp. A slip-on fastening will ensure that this bracelet will not come undone easily. Truly a must have for this season hot trends.
Designer Konstantino Inspired Two Tone Pearl and Cross Sterling Silver Charm Bracelet
Set in .925 sterling silver, this vintage looking Konstantino inspired jewelry features two tone round link bracelet with dangling cross charm. The bracelet is detailed with carvings all over the links and gold vermeil accentuated the piece while mother of pearls are attached on the four corners of the cross. A toggle clasp secured the bracelet so you won’t loose it easily. A very bold and polished look that will be perfect for special occasion wear. This item comes with free domestic ground shipping.
Rubber Band Bracelets: Be In the Loop
Those colorful loops of rubber should be quite familiar to you by now. Yes, we are talking about rubber band bracelets. They have become ubiquitous in the last couple of years. You can see them on the wrists of Tsunami aid workers, citizens campaigning for a cause, and even the on wrists of school children.
The rubber band bracelets have become the most-preferred and the most inexpensive way to show your support for a cause, or to donate to charity, or to raise awareness about an issue or a disease. You can see them used for extremely different purposes, such as to proclaim one’s religious affiliation, or as a fashion statement! The rubber band bracelet is the modern way of wearing your heart on your sleeve, er wrist!
What are rubber band bracelets? They are simply loops of solid rubber, worn on the wrist by stretching and sliding them over the palm of one’s hands. They come in any color imaginable — yellow, orange, blue, green, black, pink… Some are translucent, others glow in the dark… And they are worn in support of many a message or cause — they are as versatile as they are stretchable! Not all rubber band bracelets are rubber, though. Some of them are made of silicone.
You can have any message stamped over the rubber band bracelets, or designs crafted on them. In fact, some of the latest rubber band bracelets sport more than one message! Rubber band bracelets usually sell for $1-5 a piece, and can be ordered online from many Web sites, in multiples of five hundred, or smaller packs of a dozen or more. The manufacturers often give discounts for the larger orders.
The most famous of the rubber band bracelets is the yellow ‘Livestrong’ wristband worn by cycling champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. The pink ones are worn to show support to breast cancer patients. SHeDAISY’s ‘Come Home Soon’ yellow rubber band bracelets (named for the group’s Top 15 single) with the words ‘Come Home Soon’ stamped on them are highly popular among relatives of American servicemen.
The rubber band bracelet is a very useful and inexpensive tool for crowd control: it is used as a cheap identifying device in restricted access events attended by large numbers of people, such as music concerts. The rubber band bracelets are also issued by hospitals to their patients as identifying devices with some basic medical information stamped on them.
So what makes these rubber band bracelets so popular? Sociologists say people have always used amulets in times of trouble. Now we are just using them in a more positive way. Yes, rubber band bracelets are more than simple loops of rubber; they represent the human urge to fight and survive great odds.
Shannan Barrett is an avid reader and market researcher. She dedicates much of her free time helping the underprivileged and finds the charitable aspect of the ‘bracelet craze’ amazing, especially with Lance Armstrong’s ‘Live Strong’ foundation. Barrett analyzes what makes most people sport rubber band bracelets and comes up with some interesting findings on what makes them so popular. Know more about rubber band bracelets at http://www.a1-awareness-bracelets.com/rubber-band-bracelet.html
History of Charm Bracelets
The custom of wearing charm bracelets dates back thousands of years, and though the materials and designs on them have changed, the concept itself has never gone out of style.
This form of jewelry initially had a religous function, and dates back to the prehistoric era. According to Elizabeth Florence, president of the Jewelry Information Center, “The first charm bracelets were probably worn by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and Hittites from 500 to 400 B.C. Those charms were made of lapis lazuli, rock crystal and other gems and were inscribed with small designs, such as figures of gods, man and animals. They were immediately associated with special powers.”
As time passed, charms lost their protective spiritual functions and became fashion jewelry. The 1890’s saw a renaissance of charms, especially in Victorian England, where elaborate and intricate jewelry was in vogue. Queen Victoria helped popularize the trend by wearing a charm bracelet of small lockets holding family portraits.
WW II caused another revival of charm bracelets in America in the 1940’s and 1950’s, as soldiers stationed abroad picked up charms as souvenirs in the European cities they visited and brought them home for wives and girlfriends. The fashion trend continued well into peacetime.
Charms still remain a popular jewelry item, as personalized keepsakes in an increasingly mass-produced jewelry market. Popular themes include horoscope signs, birthstone charms, travel souvenirs, and family keepsakes. Many women start collecting charms when they are children, and the charm bracelet grows along with them, reflecting hobbies and personal experience. A charm bracelet can hold a small replica of a graduation cap, wedding bells, or lockets with children’s photos.
Charms are also a popular gift because of their affordable price. An intricate silver charm can be obtained for less than ten dollars, though it is possible to spend hundreds of dollars on a charm made of 18K and set with gems.
Italian charms, a genre in and of themselves, do not dangle from a chain like traditional charms. Instead, they are soldered onto flat links which snap onto an extensible bracelet. They are embellished with letters, symbols, pictures or stones, or have enamel pictures painted on them. Charms can be snapped on and off these modular bracelets to create new configurations to match different moods and outfits. They are traditionally made of stainless steel or 18k gold. Italian charms are of the same standard size and the resulting bracelet can be customized to fit every wrist; a small size holds 17 or less links, a medium 18, and a large 19 or more.
There are different companies which produce Italian charms, but all brands can be interchanged on the same bracelet. The basic “starter” bracelet of blank links costs approximately five dollars, and the charms cost fifteen dollars and up. China also manufactures Italian charms, and while these are popular (and, as with most Chinese goods, very competitively priced), some consumers report occasional oddities such as reversed images and poor fit.
Frank Vanderlugt
http://www.italian-charm.info
http://www.italian-charm-bracelet.info