How to build your own charm bracelet

A charm bracelet is the easiest piece of jewelry to make your own, and the easiest to overthink. You don't need a plan before you start. You need three decisions, in this order: the chain, the charms and the clasp.

One. Start with the chain.

The chain sets the tone before a single charm goes on, so pick it first. We have eleven, in silver and gold tones, and every bracelet chain is 25cm. The cable chain is the plain one, and the one most people come back to: round links, evenly spaced, nothing competing with what you hang on it. The figaro, with its two short links and one long, reads as jewelry on its own. The cuban link is our heaviest and holds its shape best when it's fully loaded. If you want something delicate, the petite and slim chains sit close to the wrist.

Most of our chains are 316 surgical stainless steel, so they're waterproof and won't tarnish. Wear them in the shower and forget about them.

Two. Pick your charms, then pick fewer.

There are over a hundred charms, in three sizes: small, medium and large. The ones that look best together usually mix sizes, with one larger charm as the anchor and smaller ones around it. Our bracelet workshop formula comes with six charms, which is a good place to start: enough to say something, not so many that the chain disappears.

The bracelets people wear most tend to mean something. A charm for a place, a pet, a habit, a small joke between two people. If you're making it as a gift, choose for the person, not for the tray.

Three. Finish with the clasp.

The standard lobster clasp comes in gold or silver to match your chain, and it's included. If you want the clasp to be part of the design, the Cherry Lock turns the fastening into a charm of its own.

What it costs.

A chain starts at €22 and the charms in our configurator start at €3. Six €3 charms on a €22 chain comes to €40. How far you take it is up to you.

Online or at the table.

You can build it on our website with the configurator, step by step: the chain, the charms, then the clasp. Or come to the atelier on the Rollebeek, near the Sablon in Brussels, and build it by hand with us. A workshop takes about ninety minutes to two hours, and most people leave wearing what they made.

Keeping it looking good.

Stainless steel chains need almost nothing. For silver and plated charms, the same rules apply as for any jewelry: put it on last, keep it away from perfume and lotion, and store it closed. We wrote more about that in how to keep your silver looking great.

Start with the chain. The rest usually follows.