A bracelet is an article of jewelry that is worn around the wrist. The origin of the term 'bracelet' is from the Latin 'brachile' meaning 'of the arm', via the Old French 'barcel'. Bracelets, like the ones available for purchase through Alltribes, can be manufactured from leather, cloth or metal and occasionally contain rocks, wood, and/or shells, especially if they are made in the traditional Native American Indian style. Providing many useful services, bracelets are not just pretty accessories or status symbols - often a bracelet (such as those used for medical and identification purposes, i.e. allergy bracelets or emergency identification tags) can save lives. However, most bracelet-lovers wear bracelets because the accessory says something about the owner. Sleek and slim or chunky and heavy, Alltribes provides a wide variety of Native American Indian styled bracelets - many created by hand by contemporary tribe craftsmen and silversmiths - to epitomize what you want to say to the world about your own personal style.
Bracelets are a popular accessory worldwide and have been throughout history. Like the people of most ancient civilizations, the ancient Egypt citizens lived very short and brutal lives by today's standard - only thirty or forty years on average. With so little time on earth, ancient Egyptians zealously arranged for a prosperous existence after their death. Bracelets played a sizeable role in their preparation procedures. Bracelets were not only desirable as a defensive armor and status symbol in this life; they were also worn as identification tags to aid the Gods in conducting the wearer and his/her wealth to the appropriate status level in the afterlife.
Roman bracelets were generally forged as part of a matched set. For example, the popular style of ball earrings inevitably properly matched with a ball style bracelet. Heavily engraved bangles and snake bracelets were very popular while bracelets forged of twisted coil (decorated with lion head ends) were common. Another popular style depicted a two-part bracelet ending with a pair of lion heads or the Herakules knot. Like the Alltribes Native American Indian bracelets, these bracelets often employed colorful stones or glass, while gemstones were regularly used as to set in the eyes. The wealthier females of this era often wore bracelets layered in bezel set emeralds. Open bands were cut, representing an ivy vine and entwined with pearls while many of the leaf and berry bracelets were heavily adorned with decorative glass.
Bracelets fell out of fashion for a time but during the Georgian times bracelets regained their popularity. During and following the 1820's coral as an accessory was adopted as a trendy fashion statement; thus bracelets were closely enhanced with coral. This same time period the Paris jewelers became widely known for their gold bracelets elegantly set with pearl edging. The dictates of fashion required that the fashionable young woman wear many bracelets at once; including wide ribbon gold mesh bracelets, and silk ribbon bracelets while older women wore gem and diamond bracelets carefully designed in geometric patterns. This changed during the Victorian era when bracelets became rigid and were normally worn in pairs. The buckle bracelet became very fashionable.
Victorian era jewelry was always created to express sentiment and bracelets were not the exception. Bracelets often contained lockets or charms with pictures or hair of a loved one, and engravings were common. Early Victorian jewelry enjoyed some mystic with hidden meanings being popular. The acrostic bracelets where the first letter of each gemstone spelled a word of friendship were very popular. For example a bracelet set with Lapis, Opal, Vermeil [hessonite garnet] and Emerald would spell Love.
These examples aside, bracelets remained popular through the contemporary period. However, bracelets weren't just used for style, even today. For example (in Latin America) traditional Azabache Bracelets are worn to protect against the Mal de ojo, or evil eye. Others believe the evil eye is the result of excessive admiration or envious looks, and often gold bracelets are used to deflect the bad mojo. New parents often clasp an infant-sized azabache (a gold bracelet or necklace with a black or red coral charm in the form of a fist) around their newborn to protect them from the evil eye. Similiarly, in Bulgaria there is a tradition called Martenitsa. This ancient practice occasionally involves wrapping or tying a red and white string around the wrist. Wearing the traditional Martenitsa bracelet in this manner is hoped to please Baba Marta to make spring come sooner. But the use of bracelets is not always just a superstitious act. In some parts of India, the type and number of bangles worn by a woman denotes her marital status.
Contemporary bracelets nominally fall in three or four styles. The status symbol of the tennis bracelet bespeaks wealth and affluence more clearly than any Egyptian bracelet ever could. The in-line thin diamond bracelet that features a symmetrical pattern of diamonds is the traditional form of the tennis bracelet. They came into recent fashion, when Chris Evert, the former World No. 1 woman tennis player and the winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles, was playing in the 1976 U.S. Open. Chris was wearing an elegant, light in-line diamond bracelet. The bracelet broke and the match was interrupted to allow Chris to recover her expensive diamonds. The 'tennis bracelet' incident sparked a new name for the item and grew to encompass a massive jewelry trend and status symbol.
For those with a little less money to spend who prefer a more sentimental value to their jewelry (like the Victorians), a charm bracelet carries personal charms: decorative pendants or trinkets that are signifiers of important things in the wearer's life. However, 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.
Bracelets that are in solid form, usually some metal, are referred to as bangles or bangle bracelets. Like the bracelets of the Georgian era they can be smooth, textured or set with stones and are often worn several at a time. In India, glass bangle bracelets are common. Made from ordinary glass that is about 1/4 - 1/8 inch in width, they are worn in groups so that arm movement causes them to make a pleasant sound rather like the clinking of wind chimes.
|
