Do you envy those families that pass down watches, rings and other precious heirlooms, wishing your family had something significant and meaningful to pass along generation after generation? Perhaps your family isn’t blessed with the cherished objects or those that might even become a running joke generation after generation You don’t have to fight through the spider webs in your dad’s cellar trying to find something worth eventually passing along to your children, grandchildren and so on through the future generations. Instead, decide to start your own tradition beginning with the current generation. Begin to collect Italian charms.
Italian Charms bracelets are the perfect family tradition and treasure: they are not as fragile as that old vase, not so valuable that they can’t be worn on a day to day basis, and not so old that they fall out of style. And, they can continue to add meaning as literally every member of the family can add meaningful charms that represent their own identity.
Read on for three easy steps to follow on your way towards a new valuable family tradition:
1) Begin by purchasing a starter bracelet.
You can start your tradition inexpensively with starter bracelets. Starter bracelets are often simple, 14 link bracelets with links that are easy to link and unlink. The importance of the starter bracelet is that it will allow you to add in personalized charms over time without running the risk of loosing loose charms; it also makes a bracelet-in-progress wearable long before you have collected all of your charms. You’ll want to take your time as you build your collection over many years.
2) Purchase personal charms over time as they correspond to events in your children’s lives.
When there is a new addition to your family, choose a charm with the appropriate birthstone. Perhaps add a charm that reflects, in some way, the community of the birth. From that day forward, pay attention: what do your children enjoy? What are their hobbies and pastimes? What subjects interest them in school? To which activities do they dedicate their free time outside of school? Find Italian Charms that reflect these accomplishments and add them to their bracelets.
3) Give the bracelets to your children or other family members.
This may be the hardest step! After years of collecting and caring for the Italian Charms, you might grown somewhat attached to them. But for the tradition to continue and grow, you must pass the bracelets on. Choose the occasion of your daughter’s sweet sixteen, or your son’s 18th birthday, or select your children’s high school or college graduations—or even their marriages—to bestow upon them their beautiful charm bracelets. Explain to them the significance of each of the charms, and how and why you selected them as you did. Demonstrate how and where they might add on to their charm bracelets to keep the tradition alive, and how, one day, you hope that they will pass their charm bracelets on to their children (after having added charms that reflect the important events in their own children’s lives, of course).
Don’t search the attic or cellar for something that you hope might have some meaning to future generations. Instead create something that will inherently serve that purpose of providing a continuing family tradition.
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February 8, 2010
The Magic of Italian Charms
Italian charms are the latest and most popular trend in the jewelry industry. The trend began in the mid 1980s in Italy. The craze spread so fast that soccer players have been known to wear bracelets that reflected their country’s colors. The trend spread to the United States after American tourists became enamored with the style.
Each bracelet consists of 18 interchangeable rectangular stainless steel links. The Italian charm starter bracelet consisting of blank links allows for a complete look. Each link is a standardized size, which allows for a multitude of companies to provide charms at various rates. Unlike traditional charm bracelets that dangle. The Italian charm bracelet is a modular unit that can be changed according to an individual’s changing interests.
Charms can represent anything that the wearer chooses. However, the most common charms are representations of an individual’s hobbies, interests and profession. The links are interchangeable so that each bracelet can be as unique as each individual.
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 also be done for a slightly higher cost. This customization allows for a photograph to be used to produce a charm through two methods. In the first method, a photograph is mounted to the stainless steel and a seal is placed over the photograph to preserve it. The second method involves transferring the image to the surface of the link through a process known as dye-sublimation.
The popularity of Italian charm bracelets has expanded the use of the modular links to other various items. Now, links can be seen on various types of jewelry such as necklaces, earrings, keychains and anklets.