Diamond Bangle Bracelets

Wrist jewelry over the years has included: gold bangle bracelets worn in ancient Egypt by women of prominence, tennis bracelets and even the jelly bracelets in a variety of fun and exciting colors worn by young girls in America. Arm accessories are extremely popular. This is primarily due to the fact that they are sturdier than necklaces and can be worn regardless of whether the owner has pierced ears. Arm accessories are highly versatile. This versatility is proven by the fact that they can accessorize an exquisite evening gown and a simple pair of summer shorts equally as well. Apart from being brilliant pieces of jewelry wrist ornaments, like diamond bangle bracelets, have long been worn for spiritual and symbolic reasons. In many cultures, during various centuries, wearing bands around a wrist or forearm was a symbol of either marital status or class distinction. In fact, many archaeologists have uncovered the remains of ancient people buried wearing still arm jewelry.

In ancient Egypt a scarab arm ornament was made out of bone, stone or wood. Archaeologists believe that scarabs were worn as a symbol of rebirth. It is also thought that the ancient Egyptians believed that the scarab god moved the sun across the sky. In parts of South and Central America, Azabaches are arm jewelry worn to protect the wearer from the "evil eye." The evil eye is thought to be bad luck from receiving too many envious and jealous looks from others. Placing an Azabach on an infant is thought to protect the child for life from the pitfalls of the evil eye. In Bulgaria, white and red stings are often tied on people's arms to please Baba Marta. This practice, Martenitsa, is thought to make spring come sooner.

In India inflexible, circular arm bands, called Chudi, are worn to signify a Hindu woman's marital status. The term "bangle" denotes a piece of wrist ornamentation that does not bend or clasp. They are circular and can be made out of gold, silver, platinum and various other precious metals. A Hindu woman would rarely wear less than two, and she begins to wear them as soon as she is married. Occasionally, men wear single wrist bands, called a kada, but it appears to not be acceptable for women. Depending on the economic status of her parents, a married Hindu woman can adorn her arms in simple gold bangle bracelets or studded with pearls or semi-precious gems. Among the elite in India, it is not uncommon to see a married woman donning an arm full of diamond bangle bracelets. Not only would this be a status symbol, but also a visible deterrent to adultery. In ancient Israel, many men courted single women with multiple gold bangle bracelets. "And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold." (Genesis 24:22) She would then continue to wear them as long as they were married.

Typically, the higher the quality of metal, the better the sound of the jingling bands as they adorn the woman's arm. High quality bracelets are praised for creating a deep and attractive jingle. Rather than brash, this sound is often lauded as being soothing to the listener, much like wind chimes in a breeze. As a result, this sound is often viewed as an attractive quality for a woman to have. Conversely, cheaper metal or plastic creates a rather tinny and flat sound when clapping together on a woman's arm. This unsavory clank is looked down upon by passersby and jewelers. Recently, these types of accessories have also been constructed out of glass that is between one fourth to one half of an inch wide. There are finer glass immovable arm bands made in a small city in India called Firozabad. They too are designed to produce an attractive sound when worn on the arm of a moving woman. It is this myriad of sounds, along with the solid, immovable shape that has helped bangle bracelets, from cheap plastic to diamond bangle bracelets, stand out among other arm accessories around the world.

Not always worn for proclaiming marital status or to ward off spiritual evils, in Western cultures gold bangle bracelets and those made of lesser materials like glass and plastic are simply worn for fashion. Hollywood's elite are now seen celebrating at hot spots wearing diamond bangle bracelets or diamond simulations from their wrists to their elbows. The jingling sound and the obvious visual appeal are creating quite a demand for this type of accessory. There are other advantages to this type of jewelry. Due to their unending circular form, gold bangle bracelets have no clasp to break and no pieces to become loose and fall off. There are no jagged edges or prongs to get tangled in a sweater or evening dress. If the jewelry proves too expensive, many jewelers are now rent their jewelry by the hour or by the event. This does not mean that there are no drawbacks to accessories such as these. Women with particularly large arms or hands may find fitting the unending circular accessory over their hands to be quite uncomfortable and unpleasant. Conversely, women with inordinately small wrists and hands may worry that their diamond bangle bracelets will slide or even fly off if they drop their arms or move too rapidly. If a woman with small wrist, but large hands has few options, as a bangle that would fit over her hands, would clearly be too large for her wrists. There are inflexible, circular wrist accessories available in children and youth sizes, but still that does not guarantee as good a fit as with a sizable piece of jewelry.