Can You Extend Baby's First Bracelet?
Categories: Giddy Tips, Jewellery 101, Special Occasion Gift Ideas31 Jul 2019
Baby-sized jewellery is tiny and precious. It's made especially for baby to wear in the early years, but what can you do when baby grows out of a much-loved bracelet?
You could put an out-grown baby bracelet in the jewellery box as a little keepsake reminder of the tiny years or keep it for the next generation. Or you could extend the wear and the love! These simple Giddy Tips can help you extend sterling silver, 9ct gold or pearl baby bracelets so baby can continue wearing them as she grows.
Most baby-sized bracelets are between 15 or 16cm in length. A small child may wear a 16 or 17cm long bracelet and older children and teens will be moving towards an average woman's 19cm long bracelet. Visiting a jeweller is a foolproof way to have chains extended or pearls restrung and lengthened for growing children, but naturally there is a cost involved to do this. The solutions listed here are simple enough to do at home!
Add a Jump Ring or Two To Extend a Bracelet
So simple! If you only need to extend the bracelet by a centimetre or two, adding jump rings (or link locks) to the end of the bracelet may be all that is needed. This allows the bracelet clasp to clip to the additional jump ring, giving a little extra length. The gold bracelet pictured here is shown with silver jump rings to demonstrate where you would add jump rings, but in real life, you would use jump rings that are the same metal as the bracelet.
Add a Charm to a Baby Bracelet
If you are planning to add a charm to a baby bracelet you could consider adding it to the end of the bracelet rather than the middle of the bracelet. This will allow you to use the jump ring that attaches the charm to the bracelet to also be used for additional length when it is needed.
The baby sized pearl bracelet pictured here had a cross charm added to the end of the bracelet so the clasp could clip through the charm's jump ring as well as the bracelets end ring. This particular charm provided another 1.5cm of "grow room" so the 15cm long bracelet could also be worn at 16.5cm.
Chain Extenders
If you need more length a chain extender may be just the thing. These are most typically used to extend adult necklaces from 40 to 45cm, 45 to 50cm and so on, however, they can also be VERY handy if you need to extend a fine bracelet. The Extender's clip is clipped onto one end of the bracelet and in most cases the bracelet's clip can be clipped along the chain. Extenders work best with parrot, lobster or cartier clasps, or very fine bolt clasps.
(Thicker bolt ring clasps will need an additional jump ring or two.)
Wear Longer Chains Shorter
Due to the value of solid gold it is often more affordable to buy a baby a shorter baby sized bracelet, however another option is to select a longer 19cm bracelet and clip the clasp along the chain at the 16, 17 or 18cm point as needed and fasten the "dangle" with a bracelet grow-clip. Extra links from longer chains can also be removed and then reattached by a jeweller at a later date. Padlock bracelets can also sometimes be clasped along the chain and the excess chain can be gathered on to the padlock and let out as baby grows.
These tips can also be useful for older children or adults who need to make a bracelet a little bigger. Some bracelets are better suited than others to the methods listed above, but as always, please contact your Giddy Aunts if you are not sure which method will best suit your needs and we will be happy to advise to ensure your baby bracelet is well-loved for as long as possible!