Children's jewellery: what fits now, and what still fits later
My Chain Guide lists 7 bracelet lengths, and 5 of them belong to a child. 4in (10cm) for a newborn. 5in (12.5cm) for 1 to 5 years. 5.5in (14cm) for a child or young adult. 6in (15cm) for 6 years and over. Then 6.5in (16.5cm) for an adult. Between a christening and a 10th birthday, a wrist travels through 4 of those sizes.
I have made jewellery by hand in London for 22 years, from a stall on Portobello Road to Liberty, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Harrods. Most of what I know about sizing a child's piece came from making them to order, and from being asked years later to make the same bracelet fit again.
The lengths, and the part the chart does not cover
The guide is blunt about the thing people get caught by. "Keep in mind that the chain lengths DO NOT include the pendant." By its own arithmetic, a charm bracelet ordered on a 6.5in chain finishes up somewhere between 7.25in and 8.5in once the charms are on it. On a small wrist that is not a detail. It is the difference between a bracelet a 3 year old wears and a bracelet that slides over her hand.
A pendant outlasts its chain. A bracelet is a single piece.
This is why I steer people towards a necklace when they are not sure. The chain is the part that gets replaced. A pendant bought at 4 moves onto a 16in chain at 14 and nobody can tell it is the same piece, because the pendant was never what stopped fitting. A bracelet is made as a single continuous length with the clasp where the clasp sits, so when it is outgrown the whole thing has to be altered rather than swapped.
What the trade worked out a long time ago
Writing in Professional Jeweller on 15 May 2012, Kathryn Bishop found a brand already answering this by adding extra chain length so a parent could wear the piece too. In the same article Jeff Lancaster of Kit Heath made the other useful point, that children's jewellery is bought by adults to give rather than by children for themselves. That report is 14 years old and describes a market, not what anybody wears now. It says nothing on sizing, engraving or remaking a piece, so none of what follows comes from it.
What to engrave, and what not to
A name does not expire and a date does not expire. An age does, and so does anything that reads as a caption for the day itself. If the piece is meant to be worn at 20, the name and the date are enough.
The piece I would start with
The Engraved Christening Bracelet is £60 in 0.925 sterling silver and £70 in 18kt gold vermeil or rose gold vermeil, and it is the piece here that takes length seriously. It is sold in 4 lengths: 4in for a newborn, 5.5in for a young adult, 6.5in as standard and 7.5in. The disc is 15mm across and 0.7mm thick, which holds a name and a date without crowding. Its own listing says it can be made to your own specifications, from a newborn up to an adult, so if the length you want is not on the list, ask me for it.
What I notice is that the bracelet is rarely the thing being bought. What is being bought is a date somebody wants kept. The piece is where it gets written down, which is why the length matters more than the look.
The bracelet that has already been outgrown
If a christening bracelet has been in a drawer for 10 years, that is exactly the work I do through Second Life. The page lists the small changes plainly: "A resize, a new clasp, a different chain length, a clean and a polish." Send me a photograph and "the estimate is free and there is no obligation", and nothing is taken apart while you decide. Where a piece is past altering, unworn sterling silver and solid gold can be sent in and recycled instead. For a remade piece to be ready for Christmas, photographs need to reach me by Sunday 1 November. Remodelling has the earliest cut off of anything I make, because the design is settled with you before any work starts.
3 more ways in
The Cat Paw Necklace is £60 in sterling silver and £80 in gold or rose gold vermeil, and it comes on a 14in child chain as well as 16in, 18in, 20in and 22in, with engraving available. The Birthstone Name Friendship Bracelet is £95, takes a name of up to 8 letters on a sterling silver, gold or rose gold plated pendant, and its specifications say the bracelet itself is adjustable, which answers the growing problem outright. The Personalised Name Necklace starts at £45 plated, is £95 in sterling silver and £575 in 14kt solid gold, with the quoted price covering a name of 4 to 6 letters. Everything made for children sits in Children's jewellery, and anything that can carry a name or a date is in Engraved Jewellery. Personalised and engraved pieces close for Christmas on 5 December.
Buy the length she is, not the length you hope she will be, and keep the date rather than the day. The second life is the real one. Anna Lou x.
Frequently asked questions
What length bracelet should I buy for a baby?
4in for a newborn and 5in from 1 to 5 years, which are the figures in my own Chain Guide. Remember that the stated chain length never includes the charms or the pendant, so a bracelet always finishes slightly longer than the number you ordered. If you want the piece to last years rather than months, order the next length up and have it shortened later.
Can a child's bracelet be made bigger when she grows?
Usually, yes. A resize, a new clasp or a different chain length are all small jobs, and they are part of what Second Life covers. Send a photograph and I will tell you what it needs and what it would cost, at no charge and with nothing taken apart at that stage.
What should I have engraved on a christening present?
A name and a date. Both are still true in 20 years, which an age or a line about the occasion is not. The disc on a christening bracelet gives you 15mm to work with, and anything in Engraved Jewellery can carry the same 2 pieces of information.