How to Take Apart Italian Bracelet Links
Italian charm bracelets are a fun way to personalize your wardrobe. They are small rectangular pieces of stainless steel with emblems or designs on them that snap together to make a bracelet. There are charms for just about everything, from food to animals to colleges and hobbies, so you can create a bracelet that fits your personality and interests. Changing the charms or links can seem difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it, making your bracelets perfect becomes an easy and enjoyable task. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Taking Apart the Bracelet Links
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1
Hold the bracelet so that the images on the links are right side up.
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2
Pick a link to remove. Removing a link will naturally shorten the bracelet. If you want to maintain the bracelet's length, replace with another link.
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3
Squeeze the charm between your thumb and index finger. Don't press on other links or on the joints of the bracelet.
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4
Apply firm pressure with your thumb and push the link to the left.
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5
The back of the link is made up of a hook the width of the link, which you will notice as you push on the front of the link. As the hook comes out from the left, pull up to detach the hook from the next link. This may take some maneuvering, but seeing the hook is easy. Simply slide it out of the adjacent link.
Replacing Links
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6
Push the furthest-left link to the left, so that the hook protrudes on the left side. This is where the new link is attached.
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7
Slide the right side of the new link onto the leftmost hook. The hook slides between the bar on the right and the main portion of the link.
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8
Push open the hook of the new link and attach it to the bracelet link on the left. This attaches in the same place as in the previous step.
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Tips & Warnings
Use the design pieces on the face of the links to help your thumb grip the link. This makes it less slippery.
If you're left handed, reversing these directions (hold bracelet upside-down and push links right) may be easier.
If you have difficulty changing links by hand, tools are available to help pull them apart. This can be helpful for people with arthritis or who otherwise have a hard time applying sufficient force to the bracelet links.
