Italian Charm Bracelet

Every year it’s the same drill: the Christmas decorations go up ever closer to the Halloween decorations just barely coming down!

The next thing you know, it’s Thanksgiving.

Then it’s the time for good cheer, for gathering our family and friends together and for celebrating the many joys of the season.

That’s when the morning paper weighs a ton because of all the sale circulars for the mother of all shopping days, Black Friday.

Sure, there are good deals to be had, but oftentimes getting to those deals requires dragging yourself out of bed at oh-dark-thirty so you can join the rush for the much-desired loss leader at your local retailer when it opens before the birds even start chirping.

Of course, the Internet has changed all that. It’s now quite possible (and even feasible) to make it through your entire shopping list without leaving the comfort of your warm, toasty home. You can even find some excellent deals that way.

But there’s still one problem with this comfy scenario: what do you get for that person who seems to have everything? What do you buy, other than clothes, for that person who is into fashion? What do you get for someone that really loves something personal? All these, and more, are where Italian Charms come in quite perfectly.

Italian Charms make great gifts for moms, dads, friends, and more. There are literally thousands and thousands of designs to choose from – and with many priced under $10, you’re sure to find something to fit your budget (OR, you can afford to get a few!)

As far as styles, you can select one designed for the person that collects a particular theme, like elephants, cats, angels and many more. Even better yet, you can get a Custom Laser Italian Charm or a Custom Photo Italian Charm!

These custom Italian charms allow you to choose your own name, phrase, or picture and have it placed on an Italian Charm – what better way to give a fun, fashionable, and most importantly, a thoughtful gift!

Italian Charms?

Ok, here’s the “brief” in case you’re new to the Italian Charm craze. Charms and keepsakes have been around for thousands of years, but it was not until the 20th century that charms became decorative fashion jewelry.

In 2001, fashion industries made it popular once again to wear charm bracelets. Since then a huge flood of styles and brands have entered America and most all of them have been accepted with open arms. Walk thru a crowd of people and you are almost sure to see a few bracelets, most of which have precious memories captured inside.

While traditional charms dangle, Italian charms feature individual pieces soldered flat onto the surface of a charm link. These flat, modular pieces form an Italian charm bracelet when they are hooked together.

Here’s the best part: since Italian charms have standardized sizing, they are compatible across brands!!

Building a Bracelet

The standard sized Italian charm is 9mm, which is measured diagonally across the piece. However, Italian charms are also available in small (5mm), large (13mm) and mega (18mm) sizes. Usually it takes around 16-18 charms to build a full bracelet.

When looking into purchasing Italian charms, you will come across the term starter bracelet. You will need to begin with a starter bracelet, which consists of eighteen blank links. In order to create a personalized Italian charm bracelet, these blank links are replaced, one by one, with selected designs of Italian charms.

The best bet is to replace around 3-5 of the blank links with Italian Charms – this will make a nice-looking Italian Charm Bracelet. Or, just start with 1 or 2 as a gift, and you’ve given someone a new collectible hobby!

Getting Started – Choose a Theme!

Italian charm collecting is similar to creating a wardrobe that is thoughtfully put together to reflect your personality and taste. Before you begin purchasing individual charms it is a good to decide on how the pieces will work together. You will want to choose a theme for your bracelet. This theme could be anything – a list of family names, pictures from a vacation, animals, hobbies, or anything that you think fits!

You may want to focus on one color or even color combination. With so many choices available in charms, you can get as specific as you’d like with your theme. Another idea is to make a keepsake bracelet that tells your life story. With this kind of a theme, your charms can be selected or even custom made to commemorate achievements, and various aspects of your personality and life.

Where to Buy?

Purchasing Italian charms on eBay is exciting because there are thousands from which to choose. Often times you’ll find quick-selling auctions that start as low at $0.99, at the same time, finding some of the most beautiful and high-end Italian Charms on the market.

And with that, Happy Holidays and Happy Charm Shopping!

Getting Creative with Italian Charms

Buying birthday gifts is tough! We want to give the perfect gift. Sometimes we just don’t know what to buy. This is what I faced this year as my long-time friend Amy’s birthday approached. What to get her? What to get her!

Amy’s favorite thing in the world is her little pug, Fluffy. She loves that dog! She also loves Italian charms. I thought to make her a Fluffy-themed Italian charms bracelet with custom and pre-designed Italian charms. As I was choosing Italian charms for Amy’s bracelet though, I had an Italian charms epiphany: Amy would love an Italian charms collar for Fluffy!

I picked Italian charms with doggies, ordered Italian charms with Amy’s pictures, Italian charms with Fluffy’s pictures, Italian charms with Amy and Fluffy together. I also bought standard Italian charms to fit the doggy theme. The collar was packed with photo Italian charms, laser Italian charms and painted Italian charms. It was beautiful! It was a blast!

By the time I put the Italian charms collar together I was really excited. The Italian charms looked great! What’s better, Amy loved Fluffy’s Italian charms collar and Fluffy did too. She said it was the perfect gift! Ooh the things you can do with Italian charms: the possibilities are endless!

In a perfect world life would be easy. We’d all get along and there wouldn’t be fighting. Yes, I’m being a little more serious than my normal column about fashion, jewelry, and celebrities. But…it’s around this time of year that I always think a little extra about my uncle and friend, David, who passed away in 1991.

Our family has always been pretty tight-knit – and Jenny (my aunt) and David, being only about 12 years older than me were more like close friends and mentors than your standard aunt and uncle. They dated forever and got married at the ripe-old age of 18, and were always smiling and laughing together. I remember learning all kind of things from both of them. Jen taking me showing me the “right” way to put on my lipstick. David calling that bad 6th grade “boyfriend” a jerk and making me feel better. Just all-around good memories.

Well, the “big D” (as his buddies used to call him) joined the Army right out of high-school and always told me just amazing stories. He got injured pretty bad in the first Gulf War, and…he was sent home. Seemed like he was going to recover, but things got pretty rough in the next few months. I was still pretty young (don’t want to totally give away my age!), and unfortunately, he passed away on November 11, 1991 – coincidentally enough, on Veteran’s day.

Yes, a sad story, but the years have passed, and Jen and I and the rest of our immediate family always spend Veteran’s Day together. We exchange little gifts, share some quiet times, a couple of tears and a bunch of laughs together. I like to give her a little gift every year…nothing too extravagant. Sometimes a little trinket, a charm, an Army pin. Something she can wear with pride.

The best part, is that on the 11th every year, she wears the gift I gave her the year before. So this year, she’ll be sporting a US Army watch I found at a surplus store last year. But, I think I’m running out of ideas!

I’m hoping some of you out there will give me some input. I’ve been thinking of maybe a little locket with an old picture, or even an Italian Charm bracelet that I can get customized with names and photos, or ….who knows?

So, please don’t hesitate to post a comment below with your ideas or stories. I was thinking about some kind of jewelry - I know someone out there has the perfect idea. (not too pricey, too!)

–MaryBeth

Before modern Italian charms were created with flat links, Italian charms bracelets featured dangling Italian charms with designs and symbols. The fun, nostalgic style of dangle Italian charms revives the popular Italian charms bracelets of the past. Dangle Italian charms go as far back as the 1950s and even Queen Victoria’s England!

Dangle Italian charms do differ a bit from the Italian charms of yesterday. Dangle Italian charms begin with the modern modular charm piece. Like other Italian charms, the piece is embellished with a hand painted, laser or photo design. Then, a dangling piece is affixed to the Italian charm on a loop creating dangle Italian charms. The “dangles” are securely attached to the charms but hang freely to create a cheerful style. The added accoutrement of dangle Italian charms really plays up the Italian charm’s design and theme.

Wear dangle Italian charms for a festive look at the holidays, celebrations or special occasions. A dangle Italian charms bracelet truly adds flair and retro style to any ensemble. Also, get creative when you mix and match standard Italian charms with dangle Italian charms for a unique look!

Nothing celebrates your personality quite like photo Italian charms. These unique Italian charms express your interests, passions and personality with crisp, bright pictures. The eye-popping style of photo Italian charms feature actual photos under a clear enamel overlay. Stainless steel creates a sparkling backdrop to add shine and luster. The luminous effect makes for a truly standout accessory!

The Making of Photo Italian Charms

Like standard Italian charms, photo Italian charms are set on 9mm stainless steel backing. Instead of hand-painted enamel plates, photo Italian charms have a plate displaying a miniature photo set on stainless steel. 

Each manufacturer of photo Italian charms uses a different process. I like to buy my photo Italian charms from a specific manufacturer because their unique method ensures top quality images.  Their photo Italian charms boast high resolution images that, when enlarged, remain crisp and clear!  A specially designed photo printer prints the images on Kodak photo paper. Once sized they are affixed to a gold plated charm backing set on stainless steel. With other methods, discoloration of photo Italian charms commonly occurs over time. This special process guarantees the photo Italian charms will not become damaged at any point.

Types of Photo Italian Charms

There are two basic types of photo Italian charms. With the first, an actual photograph is printed and sized to an Italian charm. With this type, an image is either photographed or purchased by the manufacturer.  Photo charm images can also be drawn by in-house artists and printed with the same techniques described above. These images appear cartoon-like and two dimensional. With this technique, photo charm possibilities are infinite. Similar to laser charms, names and phrases can be drawn onto photo Italian charms but printed in color to enhance the unique style. 

Styles of Photo Italian Charms

Create a themed charm bracelet when you choose from hundreds of photo Italian charms. Select from popular categories of exotic animals, pets, nature, patriotic, hobbies, artwork, characters and many more. Mix and match! Have fun browsing the endless options to personalize your photo Italian charms.

Custom Photo Italian Charms

Photo Italian charms are available in hundreds of styles and designs. Still can’t find the photo Italian charms you’re looking for?  Photo Italian charms can be created from your own personal photographs! Customize your photo Italian charms to show off images of friends, family and pets!

Nothing celebrates your personality quite like Italian photo charms. These unique Italian charms express your interests, passions and personality with crisp, bright pictures. The eye-popping styles of Italian photo charms feature actual photos under a clear enamel overlay. Stainless steel creates a sparkling backdrop to add shine and luster. The luminous effect makes for a truly standout accessory!

Making Italian Photo Charms

Like standard Italian charms, Italian photo charms are set on 9mm stainless steel backing. Instead of hand-painted enamel plates, Italian photo charms have a plate displaying a miniature photo set on stainless steel.

Each Italian photo charms manufacturer uses a different process. I like to buy my Italian photo charms from a specific manufacturer.  Their Italian photo charms have high resolution, crisp and clear images.  A special photo printer prints the images on Kodak photo paper. The Italian photo charms images are then affixed to a gold plated backing set on stainless steel. With other methods, discoloration of Italian photo charms can occur.  This special process guarantees the Italian photo charms stay beautiful!

Types of Italian Photo Charms

There are two basic types of Italian photo charms. With the first, an actual photograph is printed and sized to an Italian charm. With this type, an image is either photographed or purchased by the manufacturer.  Italian photo charms can also be drawn by in-house artists and printed with the same techniques described above. These images appear cartoon-like and two dimensional. With this technique, Italian photo charm possibilities are infinite. Similar to laser charms, names and phrases can be drawn onto Italian photo charms but printed in color to enhance the unique style.

Styles of Italian Photo Charms

Choose from hundreds of Italian photo charms to create a themed Italian charms bracelet. Select from popular categories of exotic animals, pets, nature, patriotic, hobbies, artwork, characters and many more. Mix and match! Have fun browsing the endless options to personalize your Italian photo charms.

Custom Italian Photo Charms

Italian photo charms are available in hundreds of styles and designs. Still can’t find the Italian photo charms you’re looking for?  Italian photo charms can be created from your own personal photographs! Customize your Italian photo charms to show off images of friends, family and pets!