What material is used for bracelets?
Bracelets can be manufactured from metal, leather, cloth, plastic, bead or other materials, and jewelry bracelets sometimes contain jewels, rocks, wood, shells, crystals, metal, or plastic hoops, pearls, and many more materials.
Bracelet Origin
Although the term armlet may be technically similar, it is taken to mean an item that sits on the upper shoulder: an arm ring. The origin of the term ‘bracelet’ is from the Greek ‘brachile’ meaning ‘of the arm’, via the Old French ‘bracel’. A bracelet is also a small brace or bracer (an arm guard used by archers).
Ionized bracelet, karma bracelet, magnetic bracelet
Alternative health bracelets, such as ionized bracelets, karma bracelets, magnetic bracelets, Power Balance hologram bracelets, etc., are not distinguished by their design but rather by the beneficial function claimed for them by their manufacturers and distributors. Karma bracelets are made from wood beads and may contain various charms, and are associated with bringing good luck and good karma to those who choose to wear them. No claims of effectiveness made by manufacturers have ever been substantiated by independent sources.
Bangle bracelet
If a bracelet is a single, inflexible loop, it is often called a bangle.
Rigid bracelets, usually from metal, wood, or plastic, are referred to as bangles or bangle bracelets. They can be smooth, textured, or set with stones. In India, glass bangles are common. Made from ordinary glass that is about 3 to 6 millimeters in width, they are worn in groups so that arm movement causes them to make a gracious sound rather like the clinking of wind chimes. In India, it is also common that young children will wear thin gold bangles on their hands and ankles.
Beaded bracelet
Usually made from loose beads with a center hole and connected by a piece of string or elastic band through the holes.
Charm bracelet
When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, such as charms.
A charm bracelet carries personal charms: decorative pendants or trinkets which are signifiers of important things, interests/hobbies, and memories in the wearer’s life. Are popular with all age ranges, but especially for children. In recent history, Italian charm bracelets have become trendy. While traditional charms dangle, Italian charms feature individual pieces soldered flat onto the surface of the link.
Link bracelet
Bracelets are made by connecting or linking various or similar components or jewelry findings. Link bracelets can be made of a variety of materials including metals and gemstones.
Slap bracelet
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, “slap bracelets” – flat, felt-covered metal strips that curved around one’s wrist when gently hit against it—were a popular fad. Often adorned with neon colors and vivid graphics, these bracelets could be found at inexpensive retailers. A rumor emerged that “slap bracelets” caused bleeding and puncture wounds and thus fell out of style.
Medical bracelets
Medical and identity information are marked on some bracelets, such as allergy bracelets, hospital patient identification tags, and bracelet tags for newborn babies.
Bracelets may be worn to signify a certain phenomenon, such as breast cancer awareness, or for religious/cultural purposes.
Sport bracelet, wristband
The use of colored silicone rubber as a material for producing sports bracelets was popularized by Nike and Lance Armstrong through the Yellow Livestrong wristband starting in May 2003. Their success has led to the silicone bracelet becoming a high-cost tool for various awareness, information, and charity campaigns. This can be likened to the use of awareness ribbons for similar purposes. These bracelets are also known as “baller id bands”, “baller bands” or “wristbands”. They can also be referred to as rubber wristbands, silicone wristbands or gel wristbands.For sport climbing, bracelets are designed with climbing cords (dynamic rope) to serve as mountain climbing gear.
Tennis bracelet
A possible origin of the name “tennis bracelet” comes from a story of the 1987 U.S. Open when Chris Evert dropped her bracelet on the court and the match was stopped to search for it. Details have been disputed, however, since articles predating the 1987 U.S. Open used the term, and Evert herself remembers losing her bracelet in 1978, not 1987.
Memorial bracelet
A memorial bracelet is a cuff-style bracelet worn around the wrist. The term memorial bracelet was coined by Rob Tacy in October 2001 when he launched the MemorialBracelets.com website. The bracelet is made of either aluminum, stainless steel, or leather and engraved with the name of a person who died or an event. These bracelets are worn as a way to show support, to remember a victim or hero of terrorism or war, to make people aware of a person that has died and the reason for the death, and to commemorate an event such as the September 11 attacks on the United States.
In 2014, a story about a memorial bracelet found on a beach in Florida went viral with c. 100,000 Facebook “shares” and coverage in traditional media in multiple states.
Anklet
When it is worn around the ankle it is called an ankle bracelet or anklet.
Boot Bracelet
A boot bracelet is used to decorate boots.
POW bracelet
A POW bracelet (or POW/MIA bracelet) is a nickel-plated or copper commemorative bracelet engraved with the rank, name, and loss date of an American serviceman captured or missing during the Vietnam War.
The bracelets were first created in May 1970 by a California student group called Voices in Vital America (VIVA), with the intention that American Prisoners Of War in Vietnam not be forgotten.
The bracelets sold for $2.50 or $3.00.
Those who wore the bracelets vowed to leave them on until the soldier named on the bracelet, or their remains, were returned to America.
Between 1970 and 1976, approximately 5 million bracelets were distributed.
