Parts of a Bracelet – Chain, Charm, Clasp, Bangle, Cuff

All 12 parts on the diagram

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Charm bracelet 4

Chain A charm bracelet is a chain bracelet on which charms are hung.
Charm A miniature object with a link for fastening to a chain bracelet. Charms often mark the wearer's interests, hobbies and memories.
Jump ring A plain ring, round or oval, sold in graded sizes. It is opened, hooked through the two pieces and closed again to join them.
Safety chain It keeps the bracelet on if the clasp comes open. A short chain fixed to one end of a bracelet, with a spring ring on its end that hooks to a link at the other end.

Three clasps 3

Lobster clasp Also called a lobster claw clasp. A supply catalog sells charms with one already fitted, so they clip on.
Spring ring A round clasp on a bracelet or necklace. It catches a link or a ring on the other end. One glossary calls it a bolt ring.
Toggle clasp The bar, or toggle, slips through the ring and lies across it. Toggle clasps are easy to open and close and are used on necklaces and bracelets.

Other bracelets 5

Bangle A bracelet that is a single rigid loop, solid or hollow. It is usually of metal, wood, glass or plastic.
Cuff A wide, solid bracelet, like the cuff of a sleeve. This one is the open kind, with a gap at the back.
Beads Loose beads with a hole through the middle. A string or an elastic band through the holes joins them. They are most often wood, plastic, glass or crystal.
Elastic cord Elastic cord makes stretchy, slip-on jewelry such as bracelets.
Plate (plaque) It is the place for engraving. An identification bracelet is a curved plate in the middle with flexible ends.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it: Donald S. McNeil, Jewelers' Dictionary (Jewelers' Circular-Keystone), https://archive.org/details/jewelersdictiona0000dona (charm, jump ring, spring ring, safety chain, bangle, cuff bracelet, flexible bracelet, identification bracelet and its curved center plate); Wikipedia, text only: Bracelet (bangle, beaded, charm and link bracelets; beads joined by a string or elastic band), Bangle, and Charm bracelet (a chain bracelet on which charms may be hung); Heather Dismore and Tammy Powley, Jewelry Making & Beading For Dummies (Wiley, 2005), https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780764525711 (jump rings, lobster claw clasp, spring ring clasp, toggle clasps, elastic cord, cuff and bangle bracelets); the jewelry maker's supply catalog Gems & Findings, 2019-2020, https://archive.org/details/gemsfindings0000vari (lobster clasp, spring ring, toggle clasps, safety chain, charms, bangle and cuff bracelets); and Bragonier and Fisher, What's What: A Visual Glossary of the Physical World (1981), https://archive.org/details/whatswhatvisualg00brag (identification bracelet: clasp or bolt ring, chain or links, plate or plaque, engraving; a charm as a trinket worn on a bracelet). The books and the catalog were read through archive.org's full-text search. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's design, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A charm bracelet is a chain with charms hung on jump rings and a clasp at one end. The second drawing shows three clasps; the third has a bangle, a cuff, a beaded bracelet and an identification bracelet.

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Three drawings, twelve names

Numbers 1 to 4 are on the charm bracelet: the chain, a charm, the jump ring that holds it and the safety chain hanging from one end. Open the second drawing for the clasps, 5 to 7: a lobster clasp, a spring ring and a toggle clasp. The third drawing has four more bracelets: a bangle, a cuff, beads on an elastic cord, and the plate of an identification bracelet.

A bangle is one stiff loop; a cuff is wide and stiff too.
The lobster clasp is also sold as a lobster claw clasp.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a bracelet called?

On a chain bracelet: the chain, the clasp that closes it, the jump rings that join the pieces and sometimes a safety chain. A charm bracelet adds charms. A bangle or a cuff is one stiff piece.

What is the clasp on a bracelet called?

It depends on the kind. A lobster clasp is a long clasp closed by a small arm, a spring ring is a round one, and a toggle clasp is a bar slipped through a ring.

What is the small chain on a bracelet for?

It is a safety chain: a short chain fixed to one end, with a spring ring that hooks to a link at the other end. If the clasp comes open, the safety chain keeps the bracelet from being lost.

What is the difference between a bangle and a cuff?

A bangle is a single rigid loop, solid or hollow. A cuff is a wide, solid bracelet shaped like the cuff of a sleeve; the one drawn here is open at the back.