Exquisite Gold Bracelet Designs
A gold bracelet may represent everything women love about fine jewelry: it looks luxurious, draws admiring eyes, gets immediate compliments, feels lovely to wear, and remains visible at all times. This irresistible fashion piece complements dressy and casual outfits and looks right at home on a dinner date or on a shopping trip. When choosing gold bracelets to accessorize your outfits, key factors to consider include design, embellishments, length, and gold purity. Of course, you should also consider personal preferences. After all, what you really want is a piece of arm candy you can't wait to wear and show off to everyone.
Choose from Different Gold Bracelet Designs for Women
Bracelets represent a notably diverse category of jewelry. Some popular styles available are cuff, chain, tennis, charm, and bangle bracelets. Each of these has a unique design feature that makes it stand out.
- A cuff bracelet is wider and usually thicker than other styles and has no clasp or closure. The gap in its wide band is its signature look.
- Named after Chris Evert, the tennis player, a tennis bracelet is sleek and thin and has a row of diamonds.
- A charm bracelet has one or more charms, trinkets, or some other decorative or sentimental tokens on it.
- A bangle bracelet is a simple, circular loop worn singly or in a stack.
Link or chain bracelets offer distinct design options. A link chain bracelet has a repeating metal detail linked together. Subtypes of this design include byzantine, cable, curb, bolo, rolo, rope, bead, and snake bracelets.
- The repeating unit in a bead chain is a small ball of metal.
- Byzantine chains have close-fitting links that give them the texture of rope.
- On the other hand, a rope chain has a braided look achieved with oval links.
- Both cable and rolo chains have round repeating links.
- A curb chain bracelet uses oval links and looks like a cable chain, but its oval links are flattened and twisted.
- A snake chain has a flat, smooth surface made of tightly woven and slightly curved plates.
- The unique feature of a bolo bracelet is its adjustable fit. A slider holds the two ends of the chain together and allows the wearer to make the bracelet longer or shorter as needed.
Consider Clasp Design When Picking Gold Bracelets
Unless you're picking up a cuff bracelet, pay attention to the type of clasps used in bracelets. A clasp secures a bracelet around your wrist and prevents it from falling off. It should cinch securely and be easy to open and close, preferably with one hand. The most common bracelet clasp designs for gold bracelets are lobster, barrel, toggle, S-hook, swivel, and the now popular magnetic.
Lobster clasps are spring-loaded closures that look like lobster claws. If the claws can turn 360 degrees, they're referred to as swivel clasps. A barrel clasp uses two metal parts that fasten via a screw box, while a toggle clasp has a T-shaped bar that slides into a round section to hook in place. An S-hook clasp is an S-shaped hook that fastens both ends of a bracelet and magnetic clasps secure via magnets in the same fashion.
Pick the Right Embellishments for Gold Bracelets
Commonly used embellishments for gold bracelets include diamond and colored gemstones as well as charms and other tokens. The tennis diamond bracelet is an excellent example of an embellished bracelet. Colored stones such as amethyst, ruby, emerald, and sapphire are popular decorative features used in gold bracelet designs for women. When picking one as a gift, consider a gemstone that's the recipient's birthstone.
Birthstone gems may also hang off gold bracelets rather than nestled in their links. Adding a token to a charm bracelet is a quick way to customize and change its look. Additions like talismans and amulets are a nod to wearers' religious beliefs. Sentimental charms like heart-, moon- and anchor-shaped tokens are also popular. Always a fabulous choice, personalized gold bracelets or charms inscribed with heartfelt messages will bring a smile to anyone's face.
Gold Bracelet Design FAQs
Should you look for the highest karat in gold bracelets?
High-karat gold is purer than low-karat gold, though much softer. It's best to be worn only for special occasions. You may choose 18kt to 24kt gold bracelet to wear to special events. For a piece you intend to wear every day, opt for a 14kt gold bracelet. This has a higher percentage of other metals and is more durable than 18kt and 24kt gold bracelets. Note that you should avoid 14kt white gold bracelets if you have a nickel allergy, as these may contain significant amounts of nickel. Instead, opt for 14kt yellow gold or rose gold bracelet where major additives are silver, zinc, and copper.
How do I choose from white, yellow, and rose gold bracelets?
Choose a gold color that's most complementary to your skin tone, outfits, and jewelry collection. White gold has a silvery-white color that's similar to the looks of platinum, palladium, and sterling silver. For a subtle, elegant look, pair a white gold bracelet with an anklet, ring, or other fashion accessories made of the same metal. Yellow gold has a brilliant luster and a shiny finish, while rose gold has a pinkish hue and a strong association with luxury, romance, and elegance. Pair these colored gold bracelets with necklaces, earrings, and other fashion items made of the same gold or materials of similar colors.
How do you measure your wrist for gold bracelets?
Make choosing the perfect gold bracelet easier by knowing your bracelet size beforehand. To find this size, measure your wrist with a tape measure or a strip of paper. Measure just below the wrist bone where a bracelet would sit.
When measuring for a bracelet with a clasp, add 0.7 inches to your wrist circumference to account for the thickness of the bracelet. If you prefer a snug fit, add 0.25 to 0.5 inches. When buying a large or cuff bracelet, a loose fit is preferable. Add 1.25 inches to your wrist circumference for a loose fit. Use the total measurement from your wrist circumference and bracelet thickness allowance to pick the correct bracelet size for your wrist.
Women slip bangles over their fingers when wearing them. Therefore, the right way to measure for a bangle bracelet is to press your fingers forward and place the thumb on the little finger, just as you would when wearing one. Wrap the tape measure around the back of the thumb and across the widest part of this hand placement. The measured circumference is your bangle size.
For help finding the perfect bracelet size for you, check out our handy, printable sizing guide.