Opinions wanted: what are safest clasps for bracelets??

[widget]

Hi...I posed this question on another thread and didn''t hear anything....thought I''d try again.

I guess the safest device would be to add a safety chain to a bracelet. I''ve done that to those with clasps whose only safety devices are the figure 8 thingys that snap on the sides of the closed clasps. (I don''t trust them.)

I don''t like the look of the chains, but I like them better than losing the bracelet!

What do people (experts?) think of those clasps that have a safety thingy that crosses and snaps under the clasp (next to the skin)? I''m imagining that this system is pretty safe and doesn''t need an added safety chain. Am I being foolish?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanx
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PS: What about having all clasps on expensive bracelets checked by a jeweler occasionally to be sure they''re tight and working well...would this be enough to ensure safety so that one could forego a safety chain?

 

[Kaleigh]

widget,
Do you mean a box style clasp with those figure 8 thingys that snap on either side of it?? The box style clasp locks and then you snap the figure 8 thingys . I think they are very safe, have them on my expensive bracelets. Having them checked every now and then is always a good idea. Sometimes they need to be tightened. I'm not a fan of the safety chains either. I don't know of a stronger or safer clasp?? Also how would the one that goes under the clasp be any better than those that go on the sides??

 

[widget]

Date: 4/11/2006 1:27:07 PM
Author: kaleigh
widget,
Do you mean a box style clasp with those figure 8 thingys that snap on either side of it?? The box style clasp locks and then you snap the figure 8 thingys .

Yeah, Kaleigh...that''s what I''m talking about. My DIL lost a bracelet with that kind of clasp, and I almost lost one. Maybe because the "figure 8" thingies needed to be squeezed tighter so that they were almost hard to snap.

I worry about those because it seems it would be so easy to ''unsnap'' them by snagging them on a sweater, or something...

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[Odilia]

I am interested in this too, as I got a sapphire and diamond bracelet for Christmas, and it did come off once.

It actually seems like a pretty secure clasp, but the cuff of my winter coat snagged it, and thankfully I realized it and didn''t lose it. I am planning to go to Quest to have some sort of safety device put on. I''m not sure exactly how to picture the device he was talking about. (I think it was Pete?) It sounded like something that, unlike a chain that is permanently attaced but therefore the bracelet could still come off, because it obviously got over your wrist in the first place, this would be something that would also clasp, but I''m not sure how. I wouldn''t want it to look bulky or anything, especially since it''s such a delicate looking bracelet.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

The diamond bracelet I bought from James Allen (then DCD) has a saftely arm that goes underneath the tongue/groove clasp and snaps onto the other side. It seems very secure and is invisiable. So far so good!

cheers--Sharon

 

[FireGoddess]

I have 2 bracelets that have the figure 8 thingy and I''ve seen them come undone...but interestingly not on a bracelet that has the figure 8 thingies on both sides of the regular bracelet clasp. Is that a possibility - to add one the other side of the bracelets that already have one?

 

[widget]

OFG....I''m very interested to hear what you learn at Quest! I hope you report back. I''m not sure I understand what you described in your post, but I''d love to hear more.

Sharon...your description of the arm that goes under the tongue and groove clasp is so much clearer than mine...and not one mention of a ''thingy"! LOL. What you describe is what I think is the safest, short of a chain, unless Old Fashioned Girl learns of something even better at Quest.

I''t funny...I don''t worry about rings or earrings, but I''m nutso paranoid about bracelets~

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[Odilia]

{{{{OFG....I'm very interested to hear what you learn at Quest! I hope you report back. }}}

I will definitely try to remember! Hopefully I'll get it done in the next few weeks.

{{{{I'm not sure I understand what you described in your post, but I'd love to hear more.}}}

Probably because I don't understand it myself!

I was going to try to explain at least the part I did think I understood again, but it wasn't any clearer, so I tried looking for an example on the net as a picture, and although this isn't what I was looking for, I found this site which looks interesting:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/catches-1.htm

I haven't read it yet. [oops! just took a look and it doesn't seem to be about safety chains but just the bracelet catch itself.] Also I wish I could picture the ones you all are talking about above. I might print this thread out and take it to Quest.

{{{{I't funny...I don't worry about rings or earrings, but I'm nutso paranoid about bracelets}}}

Somewhat the same here - if a ring fits me, it won't get over my fat knuckles, and most earrings are pretty safe although I have lost some that were just French wires. But bracelets do seem to come off more easily!

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 4/11/2006 5:32:20 PM
Author: widget
I''t funny...I don''t worry about rings or earrings, but I''m nutso paranoid about bracelets~
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HI Widget:

And with good reason you are "paranoid"--bracelets take much more wear and tear than the former you mentioned! Funny I have yet to loose any bracelet that had one or a combo of safety catches--but for those darn toggle ends which are a

nightmare!!! (albeit beautiful...)

cheers--Sharon

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 4/11/2006 7:09:29 PM
Author: old-fashioned girl

I was going to try to explain at least the part I did think I understood again, but it wasn''t any clearer, so I tried looking for an example on the net as a picture, and although this isn''t what I was looking for, I found this site which looks interesting:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/catches-1.htm

HI OFG:

Excellent website--about clasps......! Good find! BTW, before I wasted my life in University I worked almost two years at the "bench" in my Father''s Jewellery shop and some of those clasps shown were a bit of a nightmare to repair......

cheers--Sharon

 

[Odilia]

widget, I have not forgotten my promise to let you know about my safety chain for my bracelet. I am just a slowpoke, as usual. Finally got it done at Quest a few weeks ago, but since I''ve been out-of-town and not able to do pricescope.

Here is a picture of the size. What he did that was different, was that instead of a chain that''s permanently connected on both sides, he made one side a clasp (don''t know if that''s the right word) so that the chain could be shorter. (By at least an inch, I think.) It makes putting it on a little harder, but it also makes it falling off harder!!

I had him use the smallest clasp possible, so it would be more dainty and less noticeable. (I put a regular necklace clasp next to it for comparison.) I think it turned out really well. The original bracelet clasp has come open at least twice since I got the chain, so I am very glad I did it!! Yikes! And I like that the chain is shorter so that it can''t slip off my hand.

 

[Odilia]

Here's a picture of it on.

I should have mentioned that when Pete looked at my bracelet, he realized that due to the flexibility (or lack thereof - I think) of my bracelet, he couldn't do another type of device than the chain - at least not the figure 8. Also, I must admit I forgot to look over this thread before getting it done, and I too would be curious if there's some sort of device that could be hidden under the clasp. But so far I'm pretty happy with the chain.

 

[widget]

Thanks for remembering, ofg!

I think having an "undo-able" safety chain is a good idea....I like that it can be shorter, and therefore less 'obvious' and inclined to catch on things.

The main reason I started this thread was that I'd recently acquired an antique bracelet with what I now know is called a 'fish hook' clasp...the kind most often seen on pearl necklaces. I was really worried that it wasn't secure, and a safety chain was impossible because the clasp itself is a major part of the design.

I since found a pearl chat site so I asked them. What I heard from 'pearl people' is that this is actually one of the safest clasps there is. Here's a picture of what I'm taliking about..

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[Odilia]

I should also mention that this bracelet and the safety chain is much more delicate looking in real life. This next picture looks kind of weird, and my wrist is actually much skinnier than it looks here!

But I was trying to show how the bracelet can''t fall off, because of the shorter chain. In other words, you have to undo the clasp of the safety chain as well to get it off. Of course there is still always the risk that the safety chain itself could break. (One jeweler I went to for an estimate wouldn''t even consider a safety chain for that reason. Which I think is kind of dumb; I''d rather risk breaking a safety chain than losing the bracelet altogether.)

 

[Odilia]

Date: 6/27/2006 11:16:36 AM
Author: widget
The main reason I started this thread was that I''d recently acquired an antique bracelet with what I now know is called a ''fish hook'' clasp...the kind most often seen on pearl necklaces. I was really worried that it wasn''t secure, and a safety chain was impossible because the clasp itself is a major part of the design.

I since found a pearl chat site so I asked them. What I heard from ''pearl people'' is that this is actually one of the safest clasps there are. Here''s a picture of what I''m taliking about..

I was writing my last post when you wrote this. I think I''ve seen this type before. The part that the fishhook goes into - is usually sort of decorative, right? So that the ''hardware'' to keep the bracelet together actually becomes part of the design/art, or at least looks nice - no?
That is good to know that it''s one of the most secure clasps!

 

[bookworm21]

I''ve found that the clasp on my Tiffany bracelet is pretty secure. Let''s see how well I can manage to describe it. The first step, you stick one end of the bracelet into the other end, and it clicks into place. Then there''s a second clasp that comes around the first clasp and you snap that into place. It feels very secure, and there is no chance that the clasp can become worn down or anything over time.