A couple days ago a friend was asking for my advice on charm
bracelets for girls. He has a daughter who is 8 years old and I think he’s
looking for gift ideas.
I have all kinds of opinions
about charm bracelets, so I'll share my thoughts about them and you can then make
your own decisions about whether you think they are a good gift idea for your
little girl or girls. My first thought is that they are really special and such
a great record of a life well lived, so I’m in complete support of anyone who
decides to start one for a daughter, granddaughter, niece, sister – or any girl.
You should consider this an heirloom piece of
jewelry from the outset. Start with a good quality gold bracelet - make sure the
links are sturdy enough to hold a lot of charms and that there are enough links
for an adult wrist - if you want it to be useful while the girl is still small,
you could have links taken out and just save them so they can be added back as
she grows up. Also make sure the clasp is sturdy and has a good safety chain as well.
My parents didn’t really allow us to wear our bracelets until we were responsible
(old) enough not to lose them. I think maybe we were allowed to wear them on
special occasions only. You could opt down on bracelet value to start and
upgrade it later, but the cost of attaching individual charms is $20-$40 bucks
each, so you don’t want to have to attach charms twice. Go for the real deal from the beginning. It's going to be expensive because gold is expensive right now, but remember, this is an heirloom jewelry item, so suck it up.
Right now you’re probably
thinking – what the hell – can’t I just get a silver or silver plated one for
lots lets? Yes, you can, but…… my big rule – If you’re going to do it right,
get GOLD (14 or 18 carat), not silver. Silver bracelets aren’t worth much and
don’t seem to retain special value over generations and that is why you end up
seeing them all over the place at garage and estate sales. No one considers them special or
valuable enough to keep over time. Gold bracelets and gold charms get better from
a sentimental standpoint and become more valuable over time, and are something a
girl could pass down to her daughter or granddaughter at some point later in
life.
My parents started ours with
charms from family trips or from special occasions like holidays or graduations
or special life events. Most fine jewelry stores stock only a few charms
related to whatever City or State they are in – for example in Seattle the
charms available will be the Space Needle charm, or a ferry, but not much else.
If you want something special you will have to order it in advance, especially if you
want to have it engraved with names or dates. In other countries, you'll find fine
jewelry stores with better charm selection but that's because they are more
sophisticated that we "rubes" in America. I have also found charms on
Ebay and at estate jewelry stores too - and sometimes the antique charms are
really really nice and worth looking for. You can expect to pay $100-$500 or
more for a good charm, the more 3 dimensional the charm the more pricy (and
better) it is - obviously because of weight and feel. Some charms have gems
in/on them too, so those are clearly for super special occasions.
While your girl is still
little you could start her with charms that commemorate her birthday or
holidays with dates, etc. Often those are the flat one dimensional charms, but
they are good to have too - there are shapes of a girls head, or a heart, or
lockets that are pretty affordable to start out with. I bought one for my niece
last Christmas that was a candy cane - and it was only $40. She was only 6 at the
time, so I felt like that was a reasonable starter charm - and wouldn't be a disaster if she lost it.
I didn’t get really expensive
charms until I was in high school or even later - and those I typically bought
myself to mark occasions, travel or events. So, consequently, my charm bracelet
has gotten better and better over time. I think right now it is probably quite
valuable - I have about 40 charms now and while it’s getting pretty crowded, I really
like that it’s “mature”!
Overall thoughts - greatest
gift EVER for a girl - and you'll always know what to get her for events -
graduation, wedding, baby, etc... you can’t go wrong. Also, it's a super fun
club to belong to. I’ve met women all over the world through the charm bracelet
connection. You absolutely cannot see a charm bracelet on someone without
asking to see it and to admire their charms. Everyone’s is completely different
and special. Even my sister, who I obviously grew up with and shared a lot of
the same life events, has a bracelet that is completely different than mine and
equally OUTSTANDING and UNIQUE!
So, while we are smack dab in
the middle of graduation season, start one now for your lovely girls!
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