Love Bracelet Style Review – Worth it and Practical?
Oh, the iconic love bracelet, heading photo taken directly from Cartier’s site. It’s a bracelet without a hinge and without any stretch. Is it practical and is it worth it?
Backstory
Bangle bracelets come to my mind when I hear bracelets without stretch and without a hinge. The problem with bangles (for me) is that they fall off my hands easily since my wrists are tiny. In fact, most standard bracelet sizes don’t work for me. I either need to take out some links to shorten the bracelet or adjust the clasp to hook into a different portion in order for the bracelet to fit. It amazes me when places have more than one bracelet size or if it’s an adjustable size because those work so well! Then I heard about a bracelet that comes in 2 parts and you need a small screwdriver to link the 2 pieces together and to remove the bracelet. It sounded completely ridiculous to me since a hinge on the bracelet sounded much more practical, but supposedly these types of bracelets weren’t meant to be practical in that sense.
The Style
These are very rigid bracelets that don’t have much give to them. They’re more oval shaped than round, meant to hug around your wrist with just a small amount of space between bracelet and skin. The bracelet is not meant to be easily removed, and they’re not that simple to put on either as they’re put on and removed by using a small screwdriver or something similar. It consists of 2 pieces to be connected around your wrist.
Brief History
The most well-known bracelet of this style is Cartier’s Love Bracelet. It’s a luxurious bracelet made of golds (white, yellow, or pink/rose) or platinum. Cartier has been around for a long time, and the bracelet made its first appearance around the 1970s. The bracelet was modeled after medieval chastity belts according to the CRFashionbook site. It was to symbolize love, or more specifically, being locked into love. The designer, Aldo Cipullo, quoted that love symbols should suggest an everlasting quality. In keeping with the theme of being everlasting, the bracelet was meant to be kept on at all times as removal would require an assist.
The Cost and Types
There are several types of Cartier Love Bracelets, including some with diamonds and some without diamonds. There are different styles too, but I’ll be focusing on the rigid style that comes with the mini screwdriver. The one without diamonds (small circles, with flathead screwdriver lines) currently go for $4,250 – $7,000 depending on thickness and material. They have various ones with diamonds, such as 4 diamonds, 6 diamonds, or 10 diamonds (some circles with flathead screwdriver lines and some with a diamond in the center of circles). Those currently range from $6,250 – over $50K.
The One I Tried
I tried a variation of the pink gold with 10 diamonds style. Holy moly, this style (not the thinner one) currently retails for $15,200. There are various sizes, ranging from 15cm – 20cm. I was unable to try a 15cm, so I tried a more standard 16cm size. It’s really cute, but the design looks so simple that I’m surprised individuals would pay full price for one (or several) of these bracelets. The bracelet style does go well with many outfits, and I admit I think they look rather cute when they’re stacked. I didn’t have more to stack with, but photos online were adorable. The bracelet took a while to put on by myself since I had to be semi-strategic to push the bracelet pieces together while screwing them together.
The Fit
The 15cm would probably have been better for my wrist size, but the 16cm isn’t bad. The connection was sturdy and it didn’t feel heavy on me. Both the major axis and the minor axis of the oval shape fit my wrists, but I can imagine some discomfort if it moved around too much or was too too tight. I’ve read that some people may be in between sizes.
Scratching
Metal is malleable and these bracelets don’t seem to be coated with something that makes them scratch-proof, so these bracelets are prone to scratching rather easily. The fake ones are cheap enough, and the real ones are pure enough, both easily scratchable. I’ve read that the screwdriver that the bracelets come with can scratch the bracelet too. Wearing it with other items and other bracelets will most likely produce a series of scratches.
Worth It?
Yes, if it will bring you that much happiness, but in my situation, no. I cannot justify spending thousands of dollars on an iconic bracelet that can scratch so easily. The design is so simple and there are so many counterfeits/”inspired-by” designs out there for so much cheaper for a similar style. If I had a mega-huge surplus of cash, I’d probably buy several of these love bracelets because I could, but deep down on the inside, I rather spend that money on something else. No Cartier Love Bracelet in my jewelry box soon.
Final Comments
I appreciate the history of the iconic Love Bracelet, and it seems more of a statement piece at this point because it’s Cartier. My feelings are that the Cartier brand and the many celebs wearing the bracelets prompt others to buy them too for the name and to feel some kind of connection. The bracelet looks really cute and seems very versatile, but the concept still seems a bit impractical to me. Imagine you’re in line at the airport, and forgot to take off the bracelet beforehand. It would be easier to take off if it was a hinge-style, but this style seems it would cause some delays.
