Bangle (bracelet)

“ Plain bangles, bracelets with the two tails of a bar twisted each round the other, coiled wire bracelets which were elastic, and hingeing bracelets, are all found in use at this age. Much Greek influence is seen in the patterns, both now and in the Roman period. The bangle bracelets were often made hollow, both for lightness and economy of metal. Cheaper styles were of thin gold foil worked over a core of plaster; the decoration of cross lines on such shows that they are probably Roman. The chains of Ptolemaic and Roman age (fig. 109) are simple, but of pleasing style. ”

“ Men wear a gold bangle on the left wrist, and another on the right arm. Women wear a silver bangle on the right wrist, and a bracelet of real or imitation coral, which is first worn at the time of marriage, on the left wrist. ”

“ Some of the earliest are composed of glass and gold beads threaded so as to form various patterns. The more solid forms of bracelet are ornamented with inlaid work. Rings for the arms, as well as the ankles, are generally of plain gold—both solid and hollow—sometimes bordered with plaited chain-work. Bracelets of thick and occasionally twisted wire, found as early as the twelfth dynasty, usually have the ends beaten out into a thin wire, which is lapped round the opposite shank so as to slip easily over the wrist. ”

“ Bracelets (Nos. 16, 17, and 29) , which are numerous, and mostly open, are either solid or hollow (one is of tin) ; fibulæ and torques rare; finger-rings are of two kinds, plain and spiral (No. 7) ; portions of girdles, buckles, pendants (No. 5) , buttons (No. 33) , bronze beads, and small spirals, are abundant; a clasp is like one from Mörigen (Fig. 20, No. 25) . Tin appears in ingots, in a bracelet, discs, and thin strips for ornamentation to dishes; also gold in the form of a few portions of twisted wire or leaf. Several bronze vessels. ”

“ A treasured brooch or ring, without requiring the resetting of stones or the breaking up of the jewel, may be incorporated into a bracelet as an ornamental clasp. The beautiful round or oval Victorian brooches, the still charming baroque flower pins and rings, lend themselves with exceptional readiness to this use. Such a clasp, as a centerpiece, may grace a many-stranded pearl bracelet, or one of gold chain or gold motifs.
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Bracelet Width
The width of the bracelet should never exceed the width of the special clasp. Too wide a band will dwarf the clasp and destroy its decorative value. ”

“ Joe Buckner sounded outraged.
"That is one purpose our bracelets serve," the instructor answered. "A very good question, Joe. As you know, each of us receives a bracelet at birth, which is slipped over the hand and onto the wrist. Made of plasticum, which cannot be cut by any method, the bracelet has the unique property of expanding in size as the wearer grows. It cannot be removed except by cutting off the arm of the wearer." ”

“ If the wrist is small, the bracelet should be worn low on the arm. A narrow gold or pearl bracelet will be most becoming. Too wide a band will tend to make the hand seem bony. A slim arm will seem rounder with a bracelet of slender chains set with small stones. ”

“ Although gold as well as platinum may form the setting for a diamond bracelet, a gold bracelet and a platinum one should not be worn together.
Note that more than one bracelet (unless all are of very [174] similar design) is no more flattering a decoration than a single one. Several of much the same sort may form a wide-banded unit; different designs will suggest confusion and clash.
As with other jewels, properly chosen bracelets can accentuate one’s attractive features, and guide the eyes swiftly and unheedingly away from less attractive ones. ”

“ In general, any circlet of gold or silver which forms a bracelet for men or women, whether worn on the wrist, arm, or ankle. Bracelets worn by men often consisted of three or four massive bands of bronze, silver, or gold, and thus covered a considerable portion of the arm. Bracelets were worn by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes, the Persians, the Celts (Fig. 42) , and the Gauls (Fig. 43) . The Egyptians in some instances employed ivory and porcelain in their manufacture. ”

“ It should be tight enough to prevent sliding or turning, yet not tight enough to make the arm bulge on either side. The bracelet should be carefully tested for its place, as it is difficult and costly to alter.
If a bracelet is to be worn over the sleeve of a dress, again care must be taken to see that it is loose enough to slide and to lie comfortably. Neither a bracelet around the arm nor a belt around the waist should seem too confining. Any tightness, as with the olden hour-glass corsets, belongs below the surface. Trimness, not strain, is beauty’s accordant sign. ”

“ Overlap the two ends and lead them through several stitches, then trim off the extra material. (Fig. 1.) If it is necessary to set the braid aside before it is finished, use ordinary paper clips or knot the strands to keep them in place.
Steel Bracelet Cores
The type of core most widely used for bracelet making is formed from a strip of spring steel either 1⁄2′′ or 1⁄4′′ wide. Make a narrow V-shaped slit half the width of the band at about 1⁄2′′ from one end. ”

“ The other bracelet consists of a flat band, formed of plaited hair of various shades, and the shades so disposed as to intersect each other transversely, forming a kind of chequered pattern. Five medallions are affixed to this band, each opening by a spring in the manner of a watch-case, and within are a name and date, or any inscription appropriate to those whose tresses have formed the memento. For plain bracelets, there is the round elastic band, fastened by a broad gold band or link, to which is attached a single medallion, inclosing hair too short to be braided. ”

“ But it does not follow that “Once an earclip always an earclip” is an equally desirable or inevitable pattern, or that a bracelet should be condemned to endure forever as a band around the arm.
The stones from a pair of earrings may well be remodelled into the center stones of a bracelet. An old bracelet, on the other hand, may become a parure: earclips, dress or hair clip, and a ring. An old pendant may have stones that can be beautifully reset as earclips and a brooch, and countless other variations and transformations need little more than the imagination and the desire. ”

“ The bracelet with spiral beads has the gold spiral formed of a hammered gold wire, thicker at the middle, where it forms the barrel of the beads. This form is imitated in the three dark lazuli beads down the middle. The triple gold balls, on either side of those, are each beaten hollow and drawn into a thread-hole left at each end; so perfectly wrought are they that only in one instance does the slightest ruck of metal remain. To join the three balls together they were soldered, but without leaving the least excess or difference of colour. ”

“ NATIVE TROOPS. Page 59. In this part of India the fondness of the women for silver jewellery seems to be greater than elsewhere, if that be possible. Not only are they loaded with the usual rings, bracelets, armlets, and anklets, but they pierce the nose in three places to adorn it with trinkets. In each nostril a sort of brooch is fastened, and the centre of the nose is pierced to insert a large ring, which hangs down over the mouth. A large hole is opened in the lobe of the ear to hold a heavy ring as big as a bracelet, and in one district a great ear-lobe is considered a mark of beauty. ”

“ Bracelets of the same type as the torque and bracelet shown in Fig. 471 have not unfrequently been found in Britain, though, perhaps, they are less common in bronze than in the more precious metal, gold.
They are sometimes slightly hollowed at the expanding ends. One found with the hoard at Marden, Kent, [1474] is of this kind. Another plain penannular bracelet tapers off at the ends instead of expanding. This latter is too small for an adult person.
One found, with various other bronze relics, at Ty Mawr, on Holyhead Mountain, [1475] expands at one end and tapers at the other. ”

“ The well-known serpent bracelet was such an open spiral, such a double link, and several of them, sprung together alternately with closed links, would have formed a chain identical in principle with that of the patentee. There certainly is nothing patentable in merely reducing the size of the bracelet so as to adapt it to use in a necklace. The record also contains evidence that other spiral rings or links made of gold tubing, some of them open and some closed, by soldering, were made before 1873. ”

“ On reaching the historic times we obtain a good view of the production and variety of jewellery, in the four bracelets of the Queen of Zer, early in [85] the first dynasty, 5400 B.C. These bracelets (fig. 93) show how each separate piece was made to fit its own place in a complete design, and that the later custom of merely stringing ready-made beads was not then followed.
The bracelet of hawks has the gold blocks alternating with turquoise. The hawks on the gold pieces are all equal, but the sizes of the blocks vary in the height. ”

“ But the most curious bracelet, and by no means an uncommon one, is that made of a human lower jaw with one or more collar bones closing the upper side crossing from one angle to the other. Whether these are the jaws of former friends or enemies we had no means of ascertaining; no great value appeared to be attached to them; and it was observed, as a curious circumstance, that none of these jaws had the teeth discoloured by the practice of betel chewing.
BRACELET MADE OF A HUMAN JAW.
We procured various sorts of necklaces--strings of shells, black seeds, and dogs' teeth. ”

“ In the lowest bracelet the hour-glass-shaped beads are of gold, with one of amethyst between each pair. The gold is doubtless cast, being solid. None of these are pierced, but they were secured by tying round a groove at the middle of each bead. There was also a fourth bracelet with a ball and loop fastening which shows the skill in soldering. The ball is beaten hollow, leaving about a quarter of it open; inside it a hook of gold wire is soldered in without leaving the smallest trace of solder visible. ”

“ She won't speak without it; it seems it is a bracelet--an amulet.'
'The bracelet of brotherhood without which a woman cannot speak to a strange man,' explained Jack Raymond. 'Ah! you are wearing it.'
She was. Quite idly she had fastened it by its loop and button round her wrist, in order to keep it safe. She took it off now, and handed it to him without a word. He passed it to Auntie Khôjee, whose withered face settled into self-satisfaction as she leant forward, detaining his hand till the bracelet was safely looped on his brown wrist. ”

“ Inventories supply a certain amount of information concerning bracelets. Henry VIII in 1530 possessed seventeen, including one of "Paris work, with jacynths; and one with eight diamonds, eight rubies, fourteen pearls, and a diamond rose." Elizabeth received a large number of bracelets amongst her New Year's gifts. In the inventory of Mary Stuart's jewels are "Une paire de brasseletz garniz de cornaline lappines et agate et entredeux de doubles—Une aultre paire de brasseletz damatiste—Ung bracelet fait a facon de serpent." ”

“ Bracelets and armlets, usually of bronze, have survived in large numbers. They consist generally of a simple narrow ring, such as could be slipped over the wrist. Some are pennanular with tapering ends, others are closed with a hook and eye, while a few have their ends so twisted together that they can slide over one another and so be taken on and off. Armlets of glass, chiefly of a deep transparent blue, have also been found. ”

“ His wrists were also adorned with wide bracelets of white beads, and above these a bracelet of lizard skins, set round with monkeys’ teeth. He wore a little silver shield hanging from his nose, and a narrow, thin plate of silver, shaped like a paddle, two and a half inches long, thrust through a hole in the lower lip, and hanging on the chin. ”

“ When you have gone completely around the bracelet, untie the starting knot and tuck in the loose ends.
All the patterns shown above are made in exactly this way. The core may either be of the same color as one of the working strands, or of a third color to add little decorative touches between the stitches. ”

“ Bracelets are beaten-out pieces of copper or brass wire and silver coins, highly polished, and worn chiefly by the women, who often carry several upon each arm. When worn upon the ankles they are forged in round sections, while for the wrist they are made quite flat. ”

“ Wide Gimp Basket-Weave Bracelet Materials required: 3 strands of wide gimp, 12′′ each 1 strand of wide gimp, 60′′ 3⁄4′′ steel bracelet core
Fasten the ends of the short strands to the band with a paper clip in the position shown in figure 5. Leaving one half inch or so free at the start, weave the long strand under one—over one—under one. (Fig. 6.) Bring it around through the band and weave the next row of stitches over one—under on—over one. (Fig. 7.) Pull the strands tight.
Fig. 5
Fig. ”

“ In ancient times, the anklet had two distinct uses. In iron, it was the sign and token of a slave. As a jewel, it adorned a woman in her work-free hours, or a woman whose sole work was to entertain her lord and master. For this purpose, it might be of gold or of colored glass; often there dangled from the band gold medallions that tinkled or bells that gaily chimed as the wearer walked or moved in her dancing.
The second type of anklet, in the western world today, is to be seen only on the stage; even there, mainly in musical comedies with an Oriental setting. ”