Why Wear Italian Charms?

Italian charms are modular jewelry that can be designed to fit the personality of anyone that wears them. The style began in the late 1980s in Italy. The bracelets became so popular that soccer players wore bracelets sporting their country’s colors. By the early 1990s, American tourists to Italy brought the trend back to the United States.

The popular Italian charm bracelet begins with a modular bracelet with 18 blank links. Each link is a rectangular stainless steel piece that is interchangeable. Like all charm bracelets, the Italian charm bracelet reflects the owner’s personality. However, the modular nature of the Italian bracelet allows for being complete without being too full of charms.

Charms can reflect any part of your individual personality. However, the most general charms represent that of what the interests, hobbies and career of a person may be. Each link can be replaced so that the bracelet can reflect a person’s changing interest. Each bracelet can be created through any theme that the individual can imagine. Common themes include color and family.

The original charms were made by permanently soldering or etching a design onto the surface of the stainless steel. More recently, the most common charms are made through an enamel process that allows for full color. This enamel process can be quite expensive though, so it is used only for charms that will be sold in large quantities. However, even though thousands of different charms are produced in large quantities, Italian charm bracelet owners desire more individualized charms. The popularity of the bracelets has prompted a necessity for a less expensive form of production.

Laser technology has been found to be an inexpensive yet reliable method of creating charms. This type of charm is manufactured by a laser permanently etching the design onto the surface of the steel. Laser charms are the least expensive charms to purchase. However, laser technology has also allowed for individuals to customize a charm to their specific instructions. Custom charms are a bit more expensive but not totally unfordable.

Further customization can be accomplished through the use of photographs. Photographs can be turned into charms through two methods. First, the photograph is mounted to the rectangular piece and sealed over. Second, the image can be transferred to the metal through a process known as dye-sublimation.

Although the original trend involved only bracelets, the craze has spread to other merchandise. Fans of this growing style can now get key chains, anklets, earrings and necklaces.