How to Put Charms On a Bracelet: A Guide

Charm bracelets are so popular because they are one of the most expressive jewelry pieces you can wear. While there are ready-made bracelets with charms pre-attached, you get more expressive freedom from creating your own, unique charm bracelets. The best way to get started is to select a bracelet style to serve as the jewelry base for dangling charms. After that, you can choose from a wide range of jewelry charms depicting everything from hearts to initials to bees and animals.

Okay, that’s great, you may be thinking but how exactly do you get the charms onto the bracelet? Good question. As it turns out, when it comes to learning how to put charms on a bracelet, there are several methods you can follow, and we’ve included them all, so you can decide what method is best for your charm bracelet creation needs.

Jump Ring Method

If you love wearing jewelry, chances are good that you’ve seen numerous jump rings. These are those round metal connectors that have an opening at one end to make it possible to connect the two ends of a jewelry piece together. Jump rings are readily available for purchase and come in sets. Although, you can technically open a jump ring with your fingers, this is a tedious task, and you may injure yourself. Instead, we advise buying one or two pairs of inexpensive jewelry pliers, which make opening any connector a breeze.

Use the plier tool to hold one end of the jump ring securely. With the second pair of pliers, you can grab the other end of the ring and gently twist the ring apart. Slip your charm onto the ring, and then slip the ring onto a bracelet link. Use the pliers to close the ring completely. Choose this method if you wish to permanently put charms onto your bracelet.

Split Ring Method

This type of connector ring has two openings and there’s no need for pliers. When ready, simply open one side of the ring with your finger and slide the charm ring onto the open end. The ring snaps back into place once you let go. Repeat the above steps to secure the split ring to a link on your bracelet.

Lobster Clasp Method

The lobster clasp is familiar to anyone who wears necklace chains with this type of closure. It’s a favorite of jewelry makers and jewelry wearers because it’s so easy to open and close. Because of its ease of use it makes a great charm connector. There are some charms that already include this clasp. If the ones you own don’t have it, you can buy a supply of lobster clasps and use jewelry pliers to pry open a jump ring or use a split ring connector.

Slide the lobster clasp onto the jump or split ring, and then slide the charm ring onto the jump/split ring and close it. Once the charm is secured to the lobster clasp, you can easily open the clasp and connect it to one of the bracelet’s links. Repeat this for all charms. When choosing a lobster clasp size, make sure it’s large enough to get a good, secure grip on the bracelet link.

Charm Clips Method

You can save time and effort by using charm clips to connect a charm and bracelet together. They function similarly to a lobster clasp. Made of heavy-duty metal, they come in brass or silver and no tools are required.