The short answer: you do not have to move a single charm. Clip a CharmFlip extension chain to both ends of your James Avery charm bracelet and the whole bracelet becomes the centerpiece of a necklace: every soldered charm exactly where it was, every story at the collarbone instead of in a drawer. Unclip it and it is a bracelet again in ten seconds.
A Texas biography, one charm at a time
A James Avery charm bracelet gets built the slow way. The confirmation cross. The graduation year. The armadillo somebody swore was a joke gift and turned out to be the favorite. If you grew up in Texas, you know a bracelet like this, and you probably know exactly which drawer it lives in now.
Why your charms are soldered on (and why that matters here)
James Avery solders charms onto the bracelet: the first soldering of their charms is complimentary, and moving or re-soldering one runs a few dollars per charm at their stores. It is a good system. Soldered charms do not catch, spin, or quietly disappear at the gym.
It also means the usual advice for a retired charm bracelet, "just put your favorite charms on a necklace chain," does not apply. Your charms are not going anywhere without a jeweler's torch, and honestly they should not have to. The bracelet is the piece. The order of those charms is the timeline of a life.
So instead of moving the charms to a necklace, wear the bracelet as one. The chain attaches to the bracelet the same way the bracelet attaches to itself: by its clasp. Nothing is cut, drilled, heated, or re-set.
Which clasp does your bracelet have?
James Avery bracelets close a few different ways, and the clasp decides which chain you need:
- Lobster or spring-ring clasp. A standard CharmFlip chain works as-is: your bracelet's own clasp grabs one end of the chain, and the chain's clasp grabs the other side.
- Hook-and-eye or another style. Some James Avery designs, especially the forged ones, close differently. Before you buy anything, email a photo of your clasp to info@charmflip.com and we will tell you exactly which chain fits, or tell you honestly if none does. The clasp check is free and does not require a purchase.
- Box or slide clasp on an older piece: that is what the double-clasp chain is for.
Which length
Your finished necklace is bracelet plus chain. A 7-inch bracelet with a 10-inch chain sits at about 17 inches, the classic length, right at the collarbone. The 12-inch chain drops it to a relaxed 19. When in doubt, go longer: a necklace that sits too high goes back in the drawer, and the drawer has had its turn.
Will it hold up?
CharmFlip chains are 316 surgical-grade stainless steel with gold or silver PVD coating, waterproof and tarnish-proof. Sterling silver against stainless steel is a normal pairing in everyday jewelry; the chain will not mark or wear your bracelet, and everything unclips exactly as it was.
CharmFlip is an independent Houston company and is not affiliated with or endorsed by James Avery Artisan Jewelry. We are just neighbors: they made the bracelet worth keeping, and we give it a second way to be worn.
Flip from your wrist to your neck. Wear the story.