Saturday, October 06, 2012

The Charm of Paris

Today I did something I've never done before.  I bought a charm for a charm bracelet.  Not just any charm, but a silver miniature Eiffel Tower.

I found it in a bowlful of charms for sale at an Upper East Side rummage sale, and it was perfect inspiration for a project that has long been on the back burner: to transform my childhood charm bracelet, and update it into a necklace.

When I was 12 or 13, my father gave me this sweet silver charm bracelet.

A horseshoe, for good luck, with my birthstone, a garnet, which has long been missing.  The great state of Tennessee, where I spent my early childhood.  A cruise ship, for the transatlantic trip our family took when I was five, ultimately arriving in Beirut to spend a year in Lebanon, where I learned my first French.  An airplane (don't you love the propellers?!) for all the shuttling back and forth between parents that made me an ace traveler at an early age.

This bracelet has been relegated to my keep-forever jewelry box, but never worn in many, many decades.  I don't really wear much silver jewelry, and noisy tinkling bracelets on my arm are so distracting.

BUT.  I've seen a few charm-bracelet necklaces with mixed gold and sterling charms and found them to be  ... charming!

So next all I need to do is to find a gold (fill?) chain like this at an appropriate length, and then add  meaningful charms as I find them.  I've already decided not to use any charms with enameled color, but to stick with gold and silver.

And now I have my Paris charm -- the Eiffel Tower.  Yes, a cliche, but so much more delicate than the Arc de Triomphe. Right?

What do you think?  Any advice?  I don't even know how to remove and add the charms.  I am a total novice in the jewelry-making hobby.

I need help for charm school!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

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Jacqueline said...

Charm bracelets are in! And not just Pandora bracelets. This is a wonderful idea and gold and silver not only do mix but they look great together. I love the meaning of the charms too. Go for it!

Polly-Vous Francais said...

I don't know where in Paris one can buy charms. Maybe they exist primarily in the US?

Parisbreakfasts said...

Beads of Paradise on East 17th street will show you how to add/subtract charms to your bracelet-to-be necklace

Polly-Vous Francais said...

Thanks! I'll head over there.

pdxknitterati/MicheleLB said...

I'm wearing a little silver Eiffel Tower charm on a neck chain right now. Yours probably cost a lot less at the rummage sale than mine did at l'Arc de Triomphe! But husband saw me eye it and decided I needed it. And you're right, the Arc itself was just too chunky to wear...

Unknown said...

I enjoy so many of your posts, and this one really struck home with me in view of my new venture. For millions of people across the globe, Paris represents romance, magic, and countless unspoken dreams, and the Eiffel Tower is the most perfect iconic representation of all that Paris has to offer.

We just launched our website to share our passion with other francophiles, dreamers, and romantics across the globe. I'd welcome an opportunity to discuss it with you. Paul Michael Bedell / founder of Korbella.com

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