Eve's Addiction Bracelets with Toggle Clasp

I bought a bracelet from http://www.evesaddiction.com with a toggle clasp. I actually really liked the bracelet, but it didn't end up working out for me. I think if you want a low cost bracelet, this isn't a bad way to go.

Pros:

• toggle clasp is easy to get on and off
• can add beads to either side of the bracelet instead of only one side like trollbead's
• thin chain so any beads will fit

Cons:

• plating wears off toggle clasp quickly if wearing every day.
• beads with larger openings get caught up on the clasp (they won't come off, but it takes significant force to remove them.) I actually didn't have much of a problem with this except when I let my toddler wear it.
  

Plug for Cherrylane Keepsakes

(I am not affiliated with this company.) I really like Cherrylane Keepsakes in Provo, Utah. The staff there has been amazingly helpful (and tolerant the time I brought in my 3 wiggly children). I haven't used their online site, but if it is anything like their store, it should be a good experience.

I bought a Trollbeads bracelet

So I broke down and bought a Trollbead's bracelet and small flower clasp. Trollbeads's bracelets have one side you can add beads and one side to attach the clasp. I promptly discovered that I had to make sure I was opening the correct side of the clasp or all my beads would fall off. I added an off-brand spacer bead to try and prevent the waterfall of beads if it happened again. (I actually like the design of my Eve's Addiction bracelet clasp better, no chance of the beads coming off, but the sliver plating wore off that clasp in a few weeks.)

I also got the antique flower bead (even more awesome in person). It matches my other beads perfectly, too.

Wish list

Here's my current list of charms and glass beads I want:

• flower clasp
• Treasure
• Rose
• Dog
  

Glass

• Antique flower
• White bubbles / diamond bead, white
• Clear blue bubbles
  

Which bracelet to buy

A few weeks ago, I bought an off brand bracelet that is slowly turning bronze. I'm thinking of upgrading to a new bracelet. I am stuck between Trollbeads and Chamilia. Chamilia would be significantly less expensive up front because I don't have to buy a clasp. But unfortunately, I like some of Trollbeads beads, which don't fit on Chamilia. Looks like Trollbeads it is.

Of course, I will continue to worry about it for a few more days. The bracelet I have now does work, the clasp is just starting to look funny. I tried painting it with silver nail polish, but it isn't going to be long before that wears off too. It's just a lot of my discretionary funds I'd like to spend elsewhere.

How to save money on your European bracelet / bead obsession

Here are some money saving ideas to make your money go further. After all, frugality means more beads :) Fortunately I am not blessed/cursed with brand loyalty, so I just pick what works and looks cute.

• Necklaces - go off brand.
  
• If you need a longer necklace, attach a cheap bracelet to the back of the necklace. This will make the necklace longer without having to pay more for the longer chain. Your collar or hair will hid the deception.
  
• Check ebay for glass beads. You can get a nice assortment of murano glass beads from China for $10. This will give you some initial choices for colors and designs. It also gives you a few of the less beautiful beads to let your kids pick through and wear.
• Silver nail polish - I've been using it to hid slight flaws in some of the cheaper beads. Seems to work OK so far. (Don't do this on any bead you might want to return.)
• Clear nail polish - I slathered this over a bead I bought from Ebay. I forgot to check which metal it was made out of, still don't know. I religated that bead to my necklace (which my kids don't play with) and coated it in case it was lead-based.
  

Again, I suggest not going cheap on the bracelet itself if you plan to wear it all the time.

My bracelet

This bracelet is made up charms from Eve's addiction and ebay. I especially love the lampwork frog, he just makes me laugh.

Cost comparison between Trollbeads, chamilia, and Pandora

When I was first interested in European beads, I tried to figure out if one of the brands was less expensive to start off with.

Basically, Trollbeads are the most expensive (especially if you don't need spacers) because you have to buy a clasp. Pandora and Chamilia are almost identical in price. If you do want to use spacers or lock beads, then all three brands cost about the same.


Here are the total costs for a bracelet, clasp (if applicable), and 2 stopper/lock beads. I picked the cheapest options in all cases.

Brand	Bracelet	Clasp	2 Spacers	Total	Total w/out spacers
Trollbeads	36	24	32	92	60
Chamilia	34.95		49.9	84.85	34.95
Pandora	35		50	85	35

What are European Beads? Getting Started

European beads are silver, gold, or glass beads that are used to make charm bracelets or necklaces. There are many different styles of beads and glass. The nicest (and most expensive) ones are made out of sterling silver, gold, and murano glass.

What you need to get started
Bracelets
To get started, all you need is a bracelet and some beads. Choosing a bracelet can be very expensive (for the name brand ones) or very inexpensive (if you get a piece of leather or cord and put beads on it). The route I went initially was a cheap bracelet and necklace from http://www.evesaddiction.com . After my experience (which I will talk about in another post), I suggest getting something sturdy and sterling silver (not plated). I'm having a bad time with plating having worn off the bracelet clasp after less than 3 weeks (but I wear it all the time).

I've come to conclusion that you can go cheap with necklaces (because who ever looks at the clasp), but go nicer on the bracelet since people are more likely to look at it closely. The company you choose to go with will impact what beads you can use, so pick a company whose beads you like. (Here's an ebay article that is pretty good)

Another issue to consider is threading. Pandora is threaded which means the beads screw on. This is great because the beads stay where you put them, no sliding around. This also means you have to be careful with what beads you buy from other vendors. Chamilia is threaded at the clasp, but not on the chain (except at joints). Trollbeads are not threaded at all.

Charms
Like bracelets, you can get as cheap or nice as you want. Name brand silver charms will run $24 - $34 (US). General brand ones will run between $2 - $18 dollars. Again, here I'm having problems with the plating wearing off. If you will be wearing the charm constantly, sterling silver might be the way to go. (Or invest in silver nail polish to touch up the bronze colored spots.)


Glass Beads
The glass beads are usually called murano glass after a style made popular in Italy. Some of them are really cool. You can also get lampwork beads that will fit these bracelets made by local (or not so local) artists.

Other Beads
Most of the beads have stopper beads or lock beads so you can group beads and keep them from sliding too much on the chain. There are also spacer beads which are smaller silver beads to create space between your charms or glass beads.

Companies that make European Beads
"Designer"

• Pandora
• Chamilia
• Trollbeads
• Zable
• Biagi
  

General

• Pugster
• Eve's Addiction
• Ebay (search for pandora)
  

So, is there any brand that is better than another? Not really. Pandora seems to be the most restrictive with the fewest beads from other companies fitting on it. Trollbeads will fit pretty much any brand (as far as I can tell) because it is just a chain and not threaded like the others are. Most of the off general bead companies claim to fit Pandora.

Personally, I don't like Pandora's beads as much. I like Trollbeads much better, but that is a matter of personal preference.

The purpose of this blog

I've decided to start a blog on European beads. They've become my latest obsession. I love the idea of a charm bracelet without the dangles. It seems more subtle and less likely to catch on things.

I also like the murano glass beads. I've always loved beautiful glass, but with 3.5 small children, anything glass seemed like a bad idea. Now I can have pretty glass beads. The glass beads so far are sturdy and small enough I don't have to worry about my children breaking them.

What started this whole obsession was I wanted to add more charms to my very cheap Italian
charm bracelet. When I was looking, I discovered European beads and thought they looked classier. I'd been feeling pregnant and unattractive and though a nice piece of jewelry might be just the thing to make me feel a littler better. I decided to change to European beads and get a charm for each of my children and my husband.

So please enjoy my posts about various topics I've researched, things I've worried about, and decisions I've made.