Bracelets
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A bracelet is an article of
jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...
that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, such as charms.
Medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
and identity information can be marked on some bracelets, such as allergy bracelets,
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
patient-identification tags, and bracelet tags for newborn babies. Bracelets may be worn to signify a certain phenomenon, such as breast cancer awareness, for religious/cultural purposes or as a sign of LGBTQ pride. If a bracelet is a single, inflexible loop, it is often called a '' bangle''. When it is worn around the ankle it is called an ''ankle bracelet'' or '' anklet''. A ''boot bracelet'' is used to decorate boots. Bracelets can be manufactured from
metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
,
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...
, cloth,
plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
, bead or other materials, and jewellery bracelets sometimes contain jewels, rocks, wood,
shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
s, crystals, metal, or plastic hoops, pearls and many more materials.


Origin and etymology

Although the term '' armlet'' may be technically similar, it is taken to mean an item that sits on the upper shoulder: an arm ring. The origin of the term 'bracelet' is from the Greek meaning 'of the arm', via the Old French . A bracelet is also a small brace or bracer (an arm-guard used by archers).


Cultural and religious significance

The history of Egyptian bracelets is as old as 5000 BCE. Starting with materials like bones, stones and woods to serve religious and spiritual interests. From the National Geographic Society, the Scarab Bracelet is one of the most recognized symbols of ancient Egypt. The scarab represented rebirth and regeneration. Carved scarabs were worn as jewelry and wrapped into the linen bandages of mummies. Myth told of the scarab god, Khepri, pushing the sun across the sky. In 2008, Russian archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of Novosibirsk, working at the site of Denisova Cave in the
Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The ...
of Siberia, uncovered a small bone fragment from the fifth finger of a juvenile hominin, dubbed the "X woman" (referring to the maternal descent of mitochondrial DNA), or the Denisova hominin. Artifacts, including a bracelet, excavated in the cave at the same level were carbon dated to around 40,000 BP. In
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
, there is a tradition called martenitsa, which sometimes involves tying a red and white string around the wrist to please Baba Marta in order for spring to come sooner. In Greece, a similar tradition, weaving a bracelet from a red and white string on the first day of March and wearing it till the end of summer, is called "Martis" and is considered to help protect the wearer's skin from the strong Greek sun. In some parts of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the number and type of bangles worn by a woman denotes her marital status In
Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...
, an iron bracelet is one of the most mandatory articles known as the Five Ks. In Latin America, Azabache Bracelets are worn to protect against the Mal de ojo, or
evil eye The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glaring, glare, usually inspired by envy. Amulets to Apotropaic, protect against it have been found dating to around 5,000 years ago. It is found in many cultures i ...
. The evil eye is believed to result of excessive admiration or envious looks by others. Having newborn babies wear an azabache (a gold bracelet or necklace with a black or red coral charm in the form of a fist), is believed to protect them from the evil eye.


Types


Alternative health

Alternative health bracelets, such as ionized bracelets, karma bracelets, magnetic bracelets, Power Balance hologram bracelets, etc., are not distinguished by their design but rather the beneficial function claimed for them by their manufacturers and distributors. Karma bracelets are made from wood beads and may contain various charms, and are associated with bringing good luck and good
karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...
to those who choose to wear it. No claims of effectiveness made by manufacturers have ever been substantiated by independent sources.


Bangles

Hard material or rigid bracelets, usually made from metal, wood, or plastic, are referred to as '' bangles'' or '' bangle bracelets''. They can be smooth, textured or set with stones. In
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, glass bangles are common. There are a lot of handcrafted bangles in India too. Made from ordinary glass that is about in width, they are worn in groups so that arm movement causes them to make a gracious sound rather like the clinking of wind chimes. In India, it is also common that young children will wear thin gold bangles on their hands and ankles. A common type is also Friendship bracelets.


Beaded

Usually made from loose beads with a center hole and connected by a piece of string or elastic band through the holes. Most often made with wooden beads, plastic, glass or even crystal beads.


Charm

A charm bracelet carries pendants or trinkets which can be signifiers of important things, interests/hobbies, and memories in the wearer's life. While traditional charms dangle, Italian charms feature individual pieces soldered flat onto the surface of the link.


Elastic

Made from an elastic fabric or spandex material, elastic bracelets are typically sublimation printed with colorful designs and reversible. First created and made popular by Zox in the early 2010s, they've become more popular in the past decade.


Link

Bracelets made from connecting or linking various or similar components or jewelry findings. Link bracelets can be made of a variety of materials including metals and gemstones.


Penannular

Penannular, meaning an incomplete circle, has been a very common form for bracelets, especially ones made in a single piece of a slightly flexible material such as metal or plastic. It is particularly popular in gold.


Slap

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, " slap bracelets"—flat,
felt Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...
-covered metal strips that curved around one's wrist when gently hit against it—were a popular fad. Often adorned with neon colors and vivid graphics, these bracelets could be found at inexpensive retailers. A false rumor emerged that "slap bracelets" caused bleeding and puncture wounds and thus they fell out of style.


Sports

The use of colored
silicone In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...
rubber as a material for producing sports bracelets was popularized by Nike and Lance Armstrong through the Yellow Livestrong wristband starting in May 2003. Their success has led to the silicone bracelet becoming a low cost tool for various awareness, information, and charity campaigns. This can be likened to the use of awareness ribbons for similar purposes. These bracelets are also known as "baller id bands", "baller bands" or " wristbands". They can also be referred to as rubber wristbands, silicone wristbands or gel wristbands. For sport climbing, bracelets are designed with climbing cords ( dynamic rope) to serve as a mountain climbing gear.


Tennis

While playing a match at the 1978 U.S. Open, tennis player Chris Evert was wearing a diamond line bracelet, which fell from her wrist to the surface of the court. She said about this, "I dropped my tennis bracelet", and since then diamond line bracelets have also been called "tennis bracelets".Many sources date the incident to 1987. The term ''tennis bracelet'' appears in print before this incident, but not necessarily referring to diamond line bracelets. An advertisement for a "sterling tennis bracelet" in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' in 1975, for example, shows a solid silver bangle featuring a tennis racket design, made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company. Tennis bracelets are made up of many identical settings, each of which incorporates a hinge. The links are usually riveted or soldered from the sides of the bracelet allowing it to flex freely around the wrist with minimal movement left-to-right. A typical tennis bracelet will feature round diamonds set in four claw settings. Tennis bracelets can be adjusted to fit the wearer by removing links, this must be done by a jeweller.


See also

* Anklet * Armband * Brace (armor) * Friendship bracelet * List of topics characterized as pseudoscience (bracelets with health/healing/performance benefits) * Manillas * Necklace * Nomination (jewelry brand) * POW bracelet * Red string (Kabbalah) * Slave bracelet * Torc


Explanatory notes


References


External links


Metropolitan jewelry
a collection catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on bracelets
Bracelets at the University of Michigan Museum of Art

Bracelets at the British Museum
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