Silver Charms

Italian Silver Charms

Italian silver charm bracelets are quite a recent innovation. These bracelets and the silver charms which decorate them are becoming more and more popular as they are a bit different to traditional charm bracelets. Italian charms clip onto a special expandable band rather than dangling from links. They are like traditional charm bracelets however in that each charm is individually chosen so that you end up with a unique piece of jewelry that means something to the person who chose it.

And of course it helps that these charms have contemporary Italian styling. (We all know Milan as one of the fashion capitals of the world). The bracelets first became popular in Italy where they were seen on many celebrities and then they spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

There are many types of Italian charms from the very expensive (no doubt the ones worn by celebrities fell into that category) to cheap and cheerful. The most expensive are in precious metals like gold and silver and they may be set with semi precious or precious stones. You can also buy silver engraved with words or enameled with beautiful colored patterns. Cheap Italian charms are made of stainless steel. They still look good but they do not have the wonderful sheen of silver charms.

Italian Silver Charm with a Rose (Click Image for Details)

Italian Silver Charm with a Rose (Click Image for Details)

You can buy Italian charms to represent all kinds of things in the same way that you can buy traditional charms but these charms are flat rather than shaped like animals or shoes – though you might buy a charm engraved with a picture of a shoe or dog or in the colors of your favorite football team.

No matter what your budget you can make a special bracelet but for an extra special one stick with silver charms. If you can’t afford to buy a whole silver bracelet you can buy just a few silver charms and fill up the rest with cheap and cheerful items until you can afford to replace them. The beauty of this system is that the charms are uniform in size and compatible with each other so you can mix and match different types quite happily and ring the changes whenever you like by clipping different charms on and off your bracelet.

Sterling Silver Charms : a Full Range

There are thousands of sterling silver charms to choose from online and it can be difficult to know what to pick for the best. This guide aims to outline the various choices you have so that you can pick the best charms for you. Here are the key factors :-

1. The Look You Want

Do you want to hang a couple of charms from a bracelet or necklace or a whole collection of charms. If you are using just a couple choose quality charms which mean a lot to you with higher end pricing. If you want to build your bracelet “en masse” you will probably need to go quantity over quality. Just make sure you choose a few special charms which will “stand out from the crowd” to give your bracelet or necklace a unique look.

2. Color

You can buy charms which are totally made of sterling silver or you can buy those which have a coating or pattern of colored enamel. You can also buy silver bracelet charms encrusted with colored stones. You can either go for the plain “go with anything look”, choose a bohemian multi-colored look with different colored charms and stones or choose a mixture of plain slver and one color to go with a particular set of clothes. If you add colored charms you may be wise to have a way of easily detaching them. That way you can wear your bracelet with any color when you choose.

Silver Italian Handbag Charm (Click image for details)

Silver Italian Handbag Charm (Click image for details)

3. How You will Use Your Charms

Designers have started to use silver charms not just as jewelry attached to a bracelet but also on many other items. The main innovation here has been the creation of charms with clips which can be hooked on anywhere and as a result you will find them attached to cell phones, key rings, earrings and bags as well as bracelets and necklaces. If you are going to use your charms like this make sure they are fitted with the necessary clips (or buy the clips separately).

4. Traditional or New

Traditional sterling silver charms come in all sorts of shapes and you will get tons of choice if you shop online. (My local jewelry store was able to offer a choice of 8. Five minutes online and I swear I saw 800 silver charms to choose from). Alongside the traditional charms, there are also those mentioned previously which have pretty enamel coating or which have been encrusted with precious or semi precious stones. And now there are some completely new types of silver charm :-

Silver Bead charms

Bead charms are an interesting alternative to clip on traditional charms. They are threaded onto a thin chain bracelet rather than dangling from links yet you still choose individual silver beads to make up a totally unique bracelet. The beads are different shapes and sizes and are decoarted in different ways. Some are enameled. Some are encrusted with stones and some are just plain silver. A great choice if you’re looking for something a bit different from a normal charm bracelet but like the idea of your bracelett being different from every other one. The main brands to look out for with these bead type charm bracelets include Pandora Beads and Troll Beads.

Silver Italian Charms

Italian charms are also very different in the way they link together from the traditional style of silver charm. They first gained popularity in Italy and Europe hence their name. Italian charms clip onto an expandable bracelet rather than dangle from it. But again you choose each charm individually and make up a bracelet which is just for you.