Since the time of the Pharaohs men, women and even children have been carrying charms as talismans to keep them safe from evil or for luck and prosperity. The use of charms attached to bracelets appears to have been started by the ancient Egyptians who carried them as signs of their devotion and to take with them to the afterlife so that their gods would recognize them and give them their proper position.

In Rome the early Christians wore a charm fashioned like a fish to recognize one another. In the Dark Ages, charms were often used for religious recognition and to indicate the lineage of the bearer. Knights in the Middle Ages carried them to guard themselves during battle and the general populace also carried charms. Throughout the Renaissance their use faded, especially by the richer classes, as people became better educated and much less likely to believe in superstitions. Nonetheless the less well-informed poorer people still wore charms as protection against wickedness and to give them luck.

Wearing charms was revived in Great Britain by Queen Victoria who wore a silver charm bracelet with lockets containing images of her close family. This had an immense impact on the wearing of charm bracelets by the general population who began to wear them, not as amulets, but as decorative items. Glass beads, family crests and lockets became the craze of the day. Following the finish of World War 2 there was a huge outbreak of charm wearing as soldiers brought back gems and beads to their fiancees from far away places of the world. Designers in the US continued the fashion and started to create charms and gold charm jewelry. From that time the wearing of charm bracelets has continued to thrive.

Nowadays an extensive assortment of pendants, earrings and charm bracelets are accessible with bracelets being the most admired. The precious metals, silver and gold, are commonly used although some people favor bracelets made from pearls or beads with precious metal charms. Bracelets vary in price from less than $100 to many thousands of dollars so are within everyone’s resources. There are a lot of types of religious charms representing saints and a considerable range of charms depicting objects and animals including hearts, cupids, crosses, dolphins etc. One of the most well-liked are angel charms.

Tags: Charm bracelets, charm jewelry, gold charm bracelets, gold charm jewelry, silver charm bracelets, silver charm jewelry. history of charms

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