Charms and charm bracelets have their origins in very ancient history when charms were worn to please the gods, to ward off evil spirits, or to gain entry into the afterlife.
Carrying charms to protect against evil goes back to Neolithic times when hunters would carry interesting stones and trinkets for good luck.
The Babylonians are believed to be the first people to wear charms on a bracelet around 700 BC.
However, archaeologists have found examples of charm bracelets in the tombs of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt going back as far as 1450BC and mostly worn by men. The charms were used to ward of evil spirits, protect loved ones when the moved on to the afterlife, to improve fertility and to ensure prosperity.
In the Roman era, it is known that Christians fearful of religious persecution carried small charms shaped like a fish to identify themselves to other Christians.
The Romans and Greeks also carried charms, normally out of superstition or respect for the gods, and the age-old practice of carrying something symbolic includes soldiers sent off to war carrying a lock of their sweetheart's or wife's hair.
During the middle ages, charms were worn by knights to signify rank and family origin but charm bracelets really became popular in the UK and Europe during the reign of Queen Victoria, largely among the aristocracy as displays of wealth since only the wealthy could afford to have specially made items in precious materials such as gold and silver or set with gemstones.
Collecting charms really took off in the Second World War. Soldiers away from home collected small items to remind them of lost comrades, of places they had been and as gifts for loved ones back home. Gradually charms came to be a means of collecting and storing personal memories.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, charm bracelets became a particularly popular gift for girls reaching particular milestones in life, 16th and 18th birthdays, engagements and weddings and their owners would then add charms that marked other significant moments, such as the birth of a child or children or an anniversary.
Often charm bracelets assembled over a lifetime would be passed on from mother to daughter.
Nowadays, although they are still used to mark significant moments, their use is widespread by all sorts of organizations, from charities to religions as well as being a fashion item.
Most recent has been the fashion for making up bead charm bracelets to suit the wearer's tastes, outfit, favourite colours, or if they are interested in the meanings of gems to either protect the wearer or promote a particular wish, from attracting prosperity or love, or helping the wearer to greater mental clarity or focus. Particularly popular are bracelets containing collections of the famous Venetian murano glass beads, sometimes mixed with silver engraved beads.
We may believe we are no longer superstitious but the multitude of websites and books on charms, and on gemstone and colour meanings, suggests that somewhere inside we still turn to tokens or talismans in times of stress.
Author Resource:
Consumer journalist Ali Withers reports on the enduring charm of charm bracelets with help from a Suffolk jeweller. The first recorded charm bracelet was Babylonian, dated to 700BC and carrying charms as protection has been a custom since prehistoric times.
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