Types of Bracelets: 31 Styles Explained With Diagrams

A bracelet type is defined by how it is built and how it goes onto the wrist, not by what it is made of. A steel cuff and a leather cuff are the same type; a steel cuff and a steel chain are not. This page sorts every bracelet you will meet into six construction families and 31 named types, each with a diagram, a one-sentence definition, where it comes from, how it fastens, and how that type is measured, because a bangle, a cuff and a chain are all sized differently.

How many types of bracelets are there?

There are 31 named bracelet types in regular use, grouped into six families by construction. The families are rigid (6 types), chain (6), cord and textile (6), leather (5), beaded (5) and hybrid (3). Material does not create a new type: a gold bangle and a wooden bangle are both bangles. Regional names add roughly another 20 synonyms, listed under each entry below.

The 31 types

• Bangle
• Hinged bangle
• Cuff
• Kada
• Torque
• Slap bracelet
• Link chain
• Tennis
• ID
• Charm
• Bolo
• Station
• Friendship
• Macrame bead
• Paracord
• Sailor rope
• Red string
• Wish
• Leather wrap
• Braided leather
• Leather cuff
• Slide-knot cord
• Exotic skin
• Stretch bead
• Mala
• Gemstone with spacers
• Pearl strand
• Seed bead loom
• Memory wire
• Bar
• Silicone wristband

Rigid bracelets

A rigid bracelet holds its own shape. It has no links, no clasp in the usual sense, and it is put on either over the hand or sideways through a gap. Rigid types are sized by the opening, not by length.

Bangle

A bangle is a rigid, closed ring with no clasp that slides on over the folded hand and hangs loose on the wrist. It is the simplest bracelet construction and the oldest still made.

Origin. The word is from Hindi bangri. Shell and copper bangles survive from the Indus Valley cities of the third millennium BC; the bronze "Dancing Girl" figurine from Mohenjo-daro, about 2500 BC, wears a full arm of them and is held by the National Museum, New Delhi.

Hinged bangle

A hinged bangle is a rigid ring split into two halves, joined by a hinge on one side and a snap or box catch on the other, so it can open and close around the wrist instead of sliding over the hand. It fits closer than a plain bangle.

Origin. A 19th century development that let heavy, fitted gold bangles be worn without a large opening; Victorian jewelers made them with a hidden safety chain across the catch.

Cuff

A cuff is a rigid open ring with a gap of 20 to 35 mm. It goes on sideways: the gap passes over the narrow, flat side of the wrist and the cuff is turned to sit on top. A cuff can be squeezed slightly to adjust fit; a bangle cannot.

Origin. Wide gold cuffs are among the pieces found in Tutankhamun's tomb (14th century BC) and in Nubian burials; the open form is easier to make from sheet metal than a closed ring, which is why it is nearly as old as the bangle.

Kada

A kada is a thick, round-section rigid ring from the Indian subcontinent, usually a single heavy piece of steel, iron, silver or gold. It is a bangle in construction, but it is worn singly and is almost always heavier than a bangle.

Origin. The kara, an iron or steel kada, is one of the five articles of faith worn by initiated Sikhs, established in 1699. Outside that context the kada is a men's heritage piece across Punjab, Rajasthan and Nepal.

Torque

A torque, or torc, is a rigid open ring with two decorated terminals at the gap, most often balls, discs or animal heads. It is a cuff with finished ends, and it can be made from twisted wire, which is where the name comes from (Latin torquere, to twist).

Origin. The signature ornament of Iron Age Celtic Europe. The Great Torc from Snettisham, Norfolk, about 75 BC, is in the British Museum; it is a neck ring, but wrist torques of the same construction survive from the same hoards.

Slap bracelet

A slap bracelet is a flat strip of spring steel covered in fabric or silicone that stays straight until it is slapped against the wrist, when it snaps into a coil. It is a rigid bracelet that stores its own closing force.

Origin. Invented by Stuart Anders, a Wisconsin shop teacher, in 1983 and sold nationally from 1990 under the name Slap Wrap. It was a school fad, then a promotional item, and is now made mostly in silicone.

Chain bracelets

A chain bracelet is a flexible line of metal links or settings joined end to end and closed with a clasp. It is sized by its finished length, measured with the clasp closed. The 18 link patterns used in chains have their own page: Types of Chains.

Link chain

A link chain bracelet is a length of jewelry chain, cable, curb, Cuban, rope, Figaro or any other pattern, cut to wrist length and finished with a clasp. The pattern name is usually used as the bracelet name: a Cuban bracelet, a rope bracelet.

Origin. As old as chain itself; gold loop-in-loop chains from Egypt and Etruria predate 500 BC. The men's heavy chain bracelet as a category dates to the 1970s and 1980s, when Italian machine chain made Cuban and Figaro affordable.

Tennis bracelet

A tennis bracelet is a flexible line of identical small stones, each in its own metal setting, hinged to the next so the whole bracelet drapes like a chain. It closes with a box clasp and usually a safety catch. The stones are traditionally diamonds; any calibrated stone works.

Origin. The construction is the 1920s diamond line bracelet. The name dates to the 1987 US Open, when Chris Evert stopped a match to find her lost diamond line bracelet; retailers adopted the phrase "tennis bracelet" within a year.

ID bracelet

An ID bracelet is a chain bracelet with a flat rectangular plate at the centre, sized to take an engraved name or a line of text. The plate is soldered to the chain ends, and the chain closes behind the wrist.

Origin. Engraved identification bracelets were worn by service members and their families in the 1940s. By the 1950s the format had become a civilian gift piece, and it is still the default engravable men's bracelet.

Charm bracelet

A charm bracelet is a link chain from which small pendants, the charms, hang on jump rings. Charms are added over time, so the bracelet is designed to be changed rather than finished.

Origin. Amulets on cords are ancient, but the chain-and-charms form was popularised by Queen Victoria in the 1840s and again by returning soldiers in the 1940s, who brought home small souvenir charms.

Bolo bracelet

A bolo bracelet is a chain or cord whose two ends pass through a sliding bead; pulling the ends tightens the loop and the bead holds the position. The free ends, usually finished with small metal tips, hang below the slider.

Origin. Adapted from the bolo tie, the sliding-clasp neckwear of the American Southwest formalised in the 1940s. The bracelet version became common in fine jewelry after 2015 as a clasp-free adjustable format.

Station bracelet

A station bracelet is a fine chain with small beads, stones or discs fixed at regular intervals, the stations, with bare chain between them. It reads as a row of dots rather than a solid line.

Origin. A 20th century fine-jewelry format, a lighter cousin of the diamond line bracelet. The "by the yard" version, stones set along an unclasped chain, appeared in the 1970s.

Cord and textile bracelets

Cord bracelets are made from thread, string, rope or synthetic cord, knotted or woven. Most are tied on or use a sliding knot rather than a clasp. They are sized by wrist circumference plus a small allowance, and many are made to be worn continuously.

Friendship bracelet

A friendship bracelet is a flat band of embroidery floss knotted by hand into stripes, chevrons or diamonds, with loose ends that are tied around the wrist. By custom it is worn until it falls off.

Origin. The knotting technique is Central and South American; the bracelets spread through the United States in the 1970s alongside the friendship gift custom and have stayed a summer-camp and concert staple since.

Macrame bead bracelet

A macrame bead bracelet is a row of beads on a cord core, with square knots tied between each bead and a sliding square-knot closure at the back. The knots hold the beads apart and give the bracelet its adjustable fit.

Origin. Macrame knotting is recorded from 13th century Arabic weavers (migramah); the bead-and-square-knot bracelet became a global men's style after 2005 through Scandinavian and Tibetan-inspired designs.

Paracord bracelet

A paracord bracelet is a cobra-weave band of nylon parachute cord, closed with a plastic side-release buckle or a shackle. Unravelled, a standard bracelet yields 8 to 12 feet of 550 cord, which is the point of the design.

Origin. Type III parachute cord, rated to 550 lb, was a US military item from the 1940s; the woven bracelet is a 2000s survival-community invention that became a mainstream outdoor accessory around 2010.

Sailor rope bracelet

A sailor rope bracelet is a fixed loop of rope or cord, one or several strands, closed with a metal shackle: a U-shaped fitting with a pin through the ends. The shackle is the clasp, and the pin is turned by hand or with a coin.

Origin. The D-shackle and the bow shackle are 19th century rigging hardware. Rope-and-shackle bracelets were sold in New England and Mediterranean sailing towns as sailor souvenirs through the 20th century and became a men's staple in the 2010s.

Red string bracelet

A red string bracelet is a single thin red thread tied around the wrist with one or several knots. There is no hardware and it is not meant to be removed; it wears through on its own.

Origin. Three separate traditions use it: the Kabbalistic red string tied on the left wrist, the Hindu kalava tied at ceremonies, and the Chinese red thread of fate. Each has its own knots and wrist rules.

Wish bracelet

A wish bracelet is a fine waxed string with one small charm or bead, tied on with a wish made at the knot and worn until the string breaks. It is the gift-card version of a bracelet, sold on a printed card.

Origin. A 2000s gift-shop format built on the older tied-string customs, sold with a message card rather than a box.

Leather bracelets

Leather bracelets are cut from hide or made from leather cord. They are sized like cord bracelets, by circumference, and most use a snap, a button loop or a sliding knot. Leather is not water-safe; every type here should be kept dry.

Leather wrap bracelet

A leather wrap bracelet is a strand of leather cord, often with beads stitched along it, long enough to circle the wrist two to five times. It closes with a button through a loop at the end of the strand.

Origin. The beaded multi-wrap on leather was popularised by Californian designers in the mid-2000s and became one of the decade's most copied formats.

Braided leather bracelet

A braided leather bracelet is three or more strands of leather cord plaited into a single band and finished with metal end caps and a clasp. Flat braids use strip leather; round braids use cord.

Origin. Plaited leather is as old as leatherwork; as a men's bracelet the braided band with magnetic or lobster end caps became standard in the 1990s.

Leather cuff

A leather cuff is a wide strip of leather, 25 to 60 mm, closed with one or two snap fasteners. Unlike a metal cuff it is flexible; the name comes from the width, not the construction.

Origin. The wide leather wristband comes from work gloves and archery wrist guards; as fashion it belongs to 1970s rock and biker dress and has stayed in that register.

Slide-knot cord bracelet

A slide-knot bracelet is a single leather or waxed-cotton cord whose two ends are each tied in a sliding knot around the other; pulling the ends tightens the loop. It is the simplest adjustable bracelet and usually carries a bead or pendant.

Origin. The double sliding knot is a traditional cord closure across Asia; as a men's bracelet it spread with the surf and skate accessory market of the 1990s.

Exotic skin bracelet

An exotic skin bracelet is any leather bracelet, cuff, wrap or strap, cut from python, stingray, crocodile or lizard, where the scale pattern is the design. The construction follows one of the leather types above; the skin makes the category.

Origin. Exotic skins entered European jewelry and watch straps in the 1920s. Python and stingray are regulated under CITES, so legal pieces carry export permits from the country of origin.

Beaded bracelets

Beaded bracelets are strings of beads on elastic, thread or wire. The bead material can be stone, wood, glass, metal or pearl; the type is defined by how the beads are held and finished.

Stretch bead bracelet

A stretch bead bracelet is a row of beads, usually 6 mm to 12 mm, strung on elastic cord and knotted into a loop with no clasp. It is put on by stretching over the hand. Most men's stone bead bracelets are this type.

Origin. Elastic bead cord dates to the late 20th century; the men's 8 mm stone bead bracelet became a global format after 2010.

Mala bracelet

A mala bracelet is a wrist-length strand of prayer beads, usually 27 or 21, with one larger guru bead and a tassel or knot marking the start. The full mala has 108 beads and is worn as a necklace or wrapped around the wrist several times.

Origin. The 108-bead mala is documented in Hindu and Buddhist practice from at least the first millennium AD; the wrist mala is a modern short form for carrying a count.

Gemstone bracelet with spacers

A gemstone bracelet with spacers is a stretch or wire-strung bead bracelet in which stone beads are separated by metal spacer beads, discs or a single feature bead. The spacers set the rhythm and carry the brand or symbol.

Origin. A 2010s refinement of the stretch bead bracelet, driven by the men's accessory market's need for a visible metal element on a stone bracelet.

Knotted pearl strand

A knotted pearl strand is a row of pearls on silk thread with a knot tied between every pearl, so the pearls cannot rub and a break loses only one. It closes with a fish-hook, box or ball clasp.

Origin. Knotting between pearls is the traditional stringing method for natural and cultured pearls, standard since cultured pearls reached the market in the 1920s.

Seed bead loom bracelet

A seed bead loom bracelet is a flat band woven on a small loom from tiny glass seed beads in rows, producing a pixel-like pattern. It closes with a clasp or ties.

Origin. Loom beadwork is a documented Native American technique from the 19th century, using glass seed beads introduced through trade; contemporary bracelets follow the same loom method.

Hybrid and other bracelets

Three constructions do not belong to any family above: a bracelet that holds its shape by wire memory, a chain interrupted by a rigid element, and a moulded band.

Memory wire bracelet

A memory wire bracelet is a coil of spring-tempered wire, usually strung with beads, that returns to its coiled shape after being opened. It wraps the wrist several times without a clasp and fits any size.

Origin. Spring-steel coil wire came from the 20th century craft market; the multi-coil bead bracelet is a 1990s craft format.

Bar bracelet

A bar bracelet is a fine chain with a single rigid metal bar, 20 to 40 mm, at the centre, usually engraved or set with a small stone. It is the minimalist version of the ID bracelet.

Origin. A 2010s minimalist format that grew out of the ID bracelet and the bar necklace.

Silicone wristband

A silicone wristband is a moulded loop of elastic silicone, usually debossed or printed with a message. It has no clasp and stretches over the hand. It is the only bracelet type manufactured by moulding.

Origin. Yellow charity wristbands sold from 2004 turned the format into a global fundraising and event item within a year.

Bracelet types compared

How is each type of bracelet sized?

There are four different measurements in use, and each bracelet family uses one of them. A chain is sized by finished length with the clasp closed; a bangle or kada by the inside diameter it must clear over the hand; a cuff or torque by the inside circumference plus the gap; and a stretch, cord or silicone bracelet by the inside circumference at rest. A single wrist of 18 cm needs roughly a 20 cm chain, a 65 mm bangle, a 17 cm cuff and a 18.5 cm stretch bracelet.

Reference point from our own catalogue: Caligio's shackle-rope bracelets are cut as fixed loops in three bands, Small for wrists up to 6.5 in (16.5 cm), Medium up to 7.1 in (18 cm), Large up to 8 in (20.3 cm), with an XL line above that. The band ceiling is the wrist measurement, not the bracelet's own length, which is the rule for any fixed-loop cord type.

What is the difference between a bangle, a cuff and a torque?

All three are rigid. A bangle is a closed ring with no opening and goes on over the hand. A cuff is an open ring with a gap and goes on sideways over the narrow side of the wrist. A torque is a cuff whose two ends at the gap are finished with decorative terminals. The test is the gap: none means bangle, plain gap means cuff, decorated gap means torque. The full comparison is in Bangle vs Cuff vs Bracelet.

Which types of bracelets do men wear?

Of the 31 types, men regularly wear about eleven: cuff, kada, link chain, ID, bar, sailor rope, paracord, macrame bead, braided leather, leather cuff and stretch stone bead, with mala and slide-knot cord close behind. Bangles, tennis bracelets, charm bracelets, wraps and pearl strands are worn by men but read as a deliberate choice rather than a default. A shorter, opinionated version of this list is in Six Types of Men's Bracelet, and What Each One Is For.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

• National Museum, New Delhi: the Mohenjo-daro "Dancing Girl" bronze, c. 2500 BC.
• British Museum, Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory: the Snettisham Great Torc, c. 75 BC.
• Egyptian Museum, Cairo: bracelets and cuffs from the tomb of Tutankhamun.
• Ogden, J. (1992). Ancient Jewellery. British Museum Press.
• Untracht, O. (1982). Jewelry Concepts and Technology. Doubleday. Chapters on chain, bead stringing and rigid forms.
• CITES Appendices II and III: listing of python and stingray species used in leather.

Caligio makes six of these types for men: sailor rope with a pin shackle, macrame-style cord, braided leather, steel cuffs, link chain and exotic python and stingray. The catalogue is at caligio.com/collections/bracelets.

Continue reading

• Types of Chains: 18 Jewelry Chain Links Explained With Diagrams
• Bracelet Clasp Types for Men: Ranked by Security
• Bangle vs Cuff vs Bracelet: What's the Difference?
• How to Choose the Right Bracelet Size: Men's Sizing Guide