A Charming History of Charm Bracelets

As we wind this year to a close, it’s always nice to look back and see where we’ve been. We’ve done a lot of growing here at Classic Charms… We have a thriving Facebook community, and we’re as committed as ever to bringing you the most gorgeous Rembrandt Charms, 14k Gold charms, silver charms, and other beautiful keepsake jewelry like lockets and earrings. While we’re looking back on this great year of 2011, we thought it might be fun to look back on the history of charm bracelets, too.

Here’s a bit of what we dug up:

Charm bracelets actually date back tens of thousands of years. That means that if you’re wearing a charm bracelet today, you’re taking part in a time-honored tradition that has been around for centuries. The ancient Egyptians wore necklaces and charm bracelets to symbolize status—they believed that the charms would help the gods guide them into the afterlife.

In the Middle Ages, charms were worn for protection. The upper class also used them to display social status. As time wore on, charms fell out of favor during the Renaissance. (But they’d come back. Charms always come back!)

At different points in history, charms and charm bracelets gained and lost popularity. (They’ve always been special in our hearts, though!) By the early 20^th century, charm bracelets started being worn to enhance personal style. We can thank England’s Queen Victoria for popularizing charm bracelets with dangling beads, trinkets, and lockets.

Tracey Zabar, a writer and jewelry designer, has said that “the most irresistible and alluring thing about a charm bracelet is its ability to tell a story unique to its owner.” Frankly, we couldn’t agree more.

Look to the past and look to the future with a charm bracelet from Classic Charms for 2012! Have a wonderful New Year!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 at 12:57 pm and is filed under Holidays, Just for Fun. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.