Diamond Bracelets

PostBy Avi Paz Group At 01.11.2010

Bracelets – from the Old French barcel, derived from the Latin brachiale ("of the arm") – are, according to some sources, the most popular item of jewelry worldwide except for earrings. Originally made from wood, stones, bone, and plant fiber, bracelets got an upgrade in China some 2000 years BCE, when the Chinese began crafting them from jade and gold – a fashion that quickly spread. 

Since then, bracelet design has expanded to incorporate every known precious metal and stone, including, of course, diamonds. 

In fact, diamond bracelets might be the only fine jewelry item popularly linked to a sport. Eighteen-time Grand Slam title holder Chris Evert never played without her bracelet of in-line diamonds. During the 1987 US Open, she lost her diamond bracelet, calling for the match to be suspended until it was found. This event brought the term "diamond tennis bracelet" into being and set off a trend for Evert-style diamond bracelets. Players including Gabriela Sabatini and Serena Williams have been seeing wearing diamond bracelets in competition, and untold thousands of women have worn diamond tennis bracelets on and off the court. 

In addition to being a perennial favorite on the red carpet, (Sarah Jessica Parker wore three Fred Leighton diamond bracelets to the New York premiere of her latest film, and Meryl Streep wore diamond and onyx bracelets – also by Leighton – to the last Oscars ceremony), diamond bracelets have been at the center of more than one scandal. 

The many jewels Imelda Marcos tried to smuggle out of the Philippines when she and her deposed husband Fernando fled in 1986 included a 45-carat diamond bracelet that features a flawless 30.76 carat marquis diamond surrounded by pave-set diamonds. 

And in 2008, troubled actress Winona Ryder was the subject of a police investigation when Bulgari accused her of losing a diamond ring and bracelet set valued at £81,000 the jeweler had lent her for a party.