Charm Bracelets vs Charm Necklaces

24" long charm necklace in 14kt yellow gold

Joanne's Charm Necklace in Gold Shows Each Individual Charm

The good, the bad and the ugly of charm bracelets. Charm bracelets are so full of love and memories and cute little jewelry treasures. That's the good news. The bad news is they catch on things, rip your nylons, wreck your sweaters, (the ugly!) scratch your key board and get in the way. What's a girl to do?

In this post I'll show you why charm necklaces are cool and share a wonderful way to get versatility from your charm necklace in the length department. I'll also just celebrate the awesomeness of charm bracelets and necklaces.

Three Reasons You Might Convert to a Charm Necklace

CHarm necklace with two bracelets worth of charms

Debbie's Beautiful Charm Necklace From Two Charm Bracelets

1. People can see your charms more easily and enjoy them more

2. As a necklace you leave behind the negatives of wearing a charm bracelet

3. You are more likely to wear and enjoy your charms if they are on a necklace.

The Classic Charm Necklace

In the classic charm necklace I remove the close together charms and redistribute them in a more spaced out way, along the longer length of the charm necklace. See Joanne's charm necklace at the top of the post.

A very popular length is to make your charm necklace is 24" which generally hits above the mid point of the breast.

A Very Versatile Charm Necklace!

Two charm bracelets combined

Notice the Little Clasp at the Center, Which Hides When She Wears the Necklace

When I visited my client Mindy she was wearing a very cool charm necklace. She showed me how she shortens it. I loved it and had to share this great idea with you.

She combined two charm bracelets with no change in charm position to start with. She just used her lobster clasp to connect to the second bracelet. That's a very easy thing to do.

Wearing a Charm Necklace Long or Short, Your Choice!

Using a thin long chain and a large end ring that allows the chain to come back through it, you have a recipe for versatility in necklace length for a beautiful charm necklace.

Lengthening or Shortening a Charm Necklace the Mindy Way

Long version of charm necklace in sterling silver

The Long Version of This Charming Necklace

Having choices with the length of chain you wear opens up the possibilities for what clothes you can wear that necklace with.

Using Mindy's long chain that connects to the combined charm bracelets this charming necklace gets twice as many opportunities to be worn.

Two charm bracelets combined into an adjustable length necklace

When the Lengthening Chain is Doubled, It Halves the Length of This Charm Necklace

The great thing about Mindy's necklace is its versatility. If she decided she wanted to wear one of the charm bracelets as a bracelet only again, she can do that by removing the long chain where it connects to the charm bracelet clasp.

Showing how a necklace can be shortened

How Mindy Cuts the Length in Half.

Do You Have a Charm Bracelet You're Not Wearing Enough?

It may need new charms to liven it up and add to its cuteness or it may need to be more comfortable and convenient to wear. Here's what EHow has to say about charm bracelets.

What is So Special About Charm Jewelry?

Persian Seals Necklace

Joyce Collected Persian Seals for Her Daughter While Living Overseas. They're Now a Beloved Charm Necklace

Charm bracelets and charm necklaces are the most personal statement of your likes, your loves, your favorite places and things.

A charm bracelet or necklace can be one of the most cherished family heirlooms as it reminds family members of trips and milestones in a life well lived.

Charm Necklaces Are Fantastic

If you're not wearing your charm bracelet enough....think about the idea of converting it into a charm necklace. "Wear it Don't Warehouse it!"

Your Personal Jeweler,
Calla Gold

 

0 0 votes
Article Rating

About Calla Gold

Calla Gold is a Personal Jeweler and Author who takes pride in working with clients one-on-one to integrate their personal sense of style and taste into custom designed jewelry and repaired jewelry pieces.   Unlike typical Santa Barbara jewelry businesses, Calla Gold has no brick-and-mortar location. Calla Gold comes to you, bringing you the jewelry collection you want to see and collaborating with you to create unique custom jewelry. Calla also works with at-a-distance clients.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

10 Comments
Oldest
Newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Lisa Darsonval
9 years ago

I never thought of wearing a charm bracelet as a necklace. Or even of wearing a charm necklace, for that matter. I envisioned it to be very gaudy, but you’ve proven me wrong. It looks great as a statement piece while also, like you said, making a statement about yourself. I love thinking about other unexpected ways to wear my accessories, so thank you for this!

Lisa S.
Lisa S.
9 years ago

This is such a clever way to turn an otherwise unnoticeable, snagging, noisy and outdated piece of jewelry into a trendy, cute, eye-catching, conversation-starting sparkle to wear around the neck! Absolutely CHARMING! Such a great idea!

Jay Jorgenson
Jay Jorgenson
3 years ago

My mom wants to buy a gold necklace for my sister’s Birthday next week. I like the second charm bracelet picture you shared the flower looks cute on it. Thank you for the advice on gold necklaces. I’ll share these pictures with my mom so she can have an idea o what type of necklace to gift my sister.

Kathy T
Kathy T
3 years ago

I have tried to think of a way to do this with my charm bracelet for decades. I had several costume charm necklaces from the early 2000s. My real 14k bracelet is chunky, big and the Eiffel tower has sharp edges that are very uncomfortable. Plus I constantly worry about breaking it. It just kills me to think of a jeweler lopping off the clasp to my beloved bracelet although I have to admit I don’t even love the clasp all that much. It is the very typical slide clasp with side locking arm you see on most double loop… Read more »

Kathy T
Kathy T
Reply to  Calla Gold
3 years ago

Calla, It is Kathy T again. I still haven’t done it yet but I am going to start hunting down the right anchor chain. I am usually not attracted to them but I must admit that the bracelet conversion on the top of the page is gorgeous. I could take charms from my bracelet and add it to the top part or buy news ones which would be fun too.. Would it be difficult to find a slide clasp that would be compatible with mine? That is the expense that frightens me the most. I live in the middle of… Read more »