Points to Consider when Designing Bracelets

Bracelets do pose a particular challenge to the jewellery designer,because they have no obvious centre or focal point. However, in a way this makes them easier to design, since each section can be more independent of the next as a result.

There are two fundamental styles of bracelet: pendant or charm bracelets, and in-line links or strung beads-for more details and examples, see the Bracelet Styles article in the Expand Your Horizons article series. www.rockingrabbit.co.uk/node/7045

However, despite this the same rules apply to all bracelet styles, in structural terms. First, you can have a repeating sequence,whether hanging pendants in charm styles or beads strung along the wristline, stretch bracelets for example.

Or more interestingly, you can randomise the beads, which in fact is very effective and contemporary. This is especially so for charm styles, because real charm bracelets are made up of objects which are unique, so likewise, this works very well for beaded pendants, if you ensure that no pendant is repeated, and use a large variety of bead shapes and colours to enhance that effect. What you might want to think about though is making sure that pendants of the same colour are widely separated, and also that they are roughly the same length.If not, large and small pendants should alternate to allow each  pendant to stand out from its neighbours more effectively.

For chain link styles, it is best to either alternate larger and much smaller beads,  or to use beads all of the same size.

For earrings and necklaces, see the related articles,and allso, please check out Colour Combinations with Beads, for that aspect of design.