The history of Italian charms in America.

1. Charms and keepsakes:
• It is important to note that charms and keepsakes have been around for thousands of years, but it was not until the 20th century that charms became decorative fashion jewelry.
2. The charm craze explodes in America.
• During World War II, American military men would pick up little trinkets from local dealers, both in Europe and Asia.  These trinkets often dipicted local culture and were fashioned from wood, glass and tiny fragments of metal.  To the American military man, this was the ideal gift to purchase for family members and sweethearts back in their homeland.  The trinkets were a huge success and it was not long before the American jewelers began to produce their own charms.
• Over the next three decades the charm bracelet became a must have in every young ladies jewelry box.  Charms were created depicting birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, travel and several other significant moments in ones life.
3. The death of the American charm revolution.
• The 1970's are credited with the death of the charm bracelet, gold chains, bellbottoms and disco were the new craze and charm bracelets were definately out.  Charms and bracelets were given to children to play with, thrown away or lost in the bottomless pits of a jewelry box, where they would remain for the next fifteen to twenty years.
4. Antique charms start to become popular.
• Several of the estate sales in the mid 1980's contained unwanted charms from an era long since forgotton.  Antique dealers noticed the little trinkets and were able to pick them up for little to nothing.  Soon they could be found in almost every antique store, where they became a popular item for collectors.  Today these forgotton trinkets sell for hundreds and even thousands of dollars.
5. Charm bracelets make a huge come back.
• In 2001, fashion industries made it popular once again to wear charm bracelets.  Since then a major flood of styles and brands have entered America and have all been accepted with open arms.  Walk thru a crowd of people and you are almost sure to see a few bracelets, most of which have precious memories captured inside.  Who knows how long the Italian charm revolution will last, maybe forever this time around.

I hope you enjoyed this guide.
              John