History of Charm Bracelets

The custom of wearing charm bracelets dates back thousands of years, and though the materials and designs on them have changed, the concept itself has never gone out of style.

This form of jewelry initially had a religous function, and dates back to the prehistoric era. According to Elizabeth Florence, president of the Jewelry Information Center, "The first charm bracelets were probably worn by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and Hittites from 500 to 400 B.C. Those charms were made of lapis lazuli, rock crystal and other gems and were inscribed with small designs, such as figures of gods, man and animals. They were immediately associated with special powers."

As time passed, charms lost their protective spiritual functions and became fashion jewelry. The 1890's saw a renaissance of charms, especially in Victorian England, where elaborate and intricate jewelry was in vogue. Queen Victoria helped popularize the trend by wearing a charm bracelet of small lockets holding family portraits.

WW II caused another revival of charm bracelets in America in the 1940's and 1950's, as soldiers stationed abroad picked up charms as souvenirs in the European cities they visited and brought them home for wives and girlfriends. The fashion trend continued well into peacetime.

Charms still remain a popular jewelry item, as personalized keepsakes in an increasingly mass-produced jewelry market. Popular themes include horoscope signs, birthstone charms, travel souvenirs, and family keepsakes. Many women start collecting charms when they are children, and the charm bracelet grows along with them, reflecting hobbies and personal experience. A charm bracelet can hold a small replica of a graduation cap, wedding bells, or lockets with children's photos.

Charms are also a popular gift because of their affordable price. An intricate silver charm can be obtained for less than ten dollars, though it is possible to spend hundreds of dollars on a charm made of 18K and set with gems.

Italian charms, a genre in and of themselves, do not dangle from a chain like traditional charms. Instead, they are soldered onto flat links which snap onto an extensible bracelet. They are embellished with letters, symbols, pictures or stones, or have enamel pictures painted on them. Charms can be snapped on and off these modular bracelets to create new configurations to match different moods and outfits. They are traditionally made of stainless steel or 18k gold. Italian charms are of the same standard size and the resulting bracelet can be customized to fit every wrist; a small size holds 17 or less links, a medium 18, and a large 19 or more.

There are different companies which produce Italian charms, but all brands can be interchanged on the same bracelet. The basic "starter" bracelet of blank links costs approximately five dollars, and the charms cost fifteen dollars and up. China also manufactures Italian charms, and while these are popular (and, as with most Chinese goods, very competitively priced), some consumers report occasional oddities such as reversed images and poor fit.

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Wedding Baskets South West - Pieces of Native American history

Native American wicker seems to be the first vehicle circulation and one of the first means of artistic expression by prehistoric Indians. Baskets seems to be instinctive, as demonstrated by the work of many of God's creatures, including spiders and complex networks of plants and birds of beaver dams and their nests. From the earliest times, welcoming people gather food baskets. In this way, baskets for gathering food, has encouraged social interactionCommunication and language. Baskets by itself, is an art learned. For centuries, art has been collected and taught together. Once a common practice among all the tribes, the art of basket weaving has disappeared in many other Indian tribes.

Because of the "attraction" of the earth, have baskets used since ancient times, to keep sacred objects, and thus prevent them from contacting the ground. Festive baskets often simple ritual objects, suchTwigs, bundles of medicine, yucca shampoo for washing hair and corn flour for weddings or the coming of age of puberty rights reserved.

The techniques of manufacture of the baskets are used today are identical to their prehistoric ancestors, incorporating a roll of fabric and "split trick" style from native plants like yucca, bear grass and devil's claw. There is a considerable amount of time and patience needed for this job. The weaver must first earn her own natural materials are used. If aHe died of natural colors, vegetable dyes are angry and turned to his meetings. This indicates that begins in front of the baskets.

A favorite among collectors is the trash of the south-west "Navajo Wedding Basket. The Paiutes and emerged from the Navajo, is a well-coiled basket consisting of a triple foundation rod with sumac fiberglass overlay, and ends with the wrong queue , also known as a herringbone weave. The center can be formed by a knot or a starRound coil. The center will be the beginning of life, moving outward, while the outer white represents an increase of 'man. The white inner refers to the holy mountain, while he was outside the white in the crib. These are linked with the outer edge of a person's thoughts, prayers and values. The gap or break in the building, which is from the center of the truck outside the coil known as "shipapu. Shipapu This represents the end ofthe last round of basketball and the final print of the circle is finished aligned. The shipapu It is believed that the communication path between the lowest, the ancient world of the Navajo and the contemporary world. The shipapu is in the basket, as a way to allow people to create (births in the world above tissues), and thus the mind and go.

In Navajo ceremony, the man and woman meet at sunset in a specially prepared statement. The basket of weddingfront of them, full of blue cornmeal. Eat, taking bites alternately, beginning at the eastern edge and moving clockwise. The guests then dip their fingers in the remaining meals and says a prayer. The basket is then taken away by the groom's mother and had not seen for the rest of the night. The practice remains an integral part of the continuing traditions of the Navajo way of life and culture.

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