A bracelet is an article of clothing or jewelry, which is worn around the



wrist. Bracelets can be manufactured from cloth or metal, and sometimes

contain rocks, wood, and/or shells. Bracelets are also used for medical and

identification purposes such as allergy bracelets and hospital tags. In the

late 1980s, "snap bracelets", felt-covered metal bracelets that curved

around one's wrist when gently hit against it, were a popular fad.

Nike and Lance Armstrong popularized the recent use of colored silicone

rubber as a material for producing sports bracelets through the Yellow

Livestrong band. Its success has led to the use of these 'awareness'

bracelets as low cost tools for information campaigns and charity projects.

These sports bracelets are also known otherwise as 'baller id bands',

'wristbands' or 'baller bands'.

The in-line thin diamond bracelet that features a symmetrical pattern of

diamonds is called a tennis bracelet. According to Diamond Bug, in 1987

Chris Evert, the former World No. 1 woman tennis player and the winner of

18 Grand Slam singles titles, was playing in the U.S. Open. She was

wearing an elegant, light in-line diamond bracelet, which accidentally broke

and the match was interrupted to allow Chris to recover her precious

diamonds. The 'tennis bracelet' incident sparked a new name for the item

and sparked a huge jewelry trend. Tennis bracelets continued to be worn

by various tennis stars like Serena Williams and Gabriela Sabatini.

Although the term 'armlet' may be technically similar, it is taken to mean an

item that sits on the upper arm. The origin of the term 'bracelet' is from the

Latin 'brachile' meaning 'of the arm', via the Old French 'barcel'. Taken in

the plural, bracelets is often use as slang for handcuffs.

Wristbands

Wristbands are encircling strips worn on the wrist, made of any of a variety

of materials depending on the purpose. The term can be used to refer to

the bracelet-like band of a wristwatch, to the cuff or other part of a sleeve

that covers the wrist, or to decorative or functional bands worn on the

wrist for other reasons.

One common type of wristband is the loops of plastic or tyvek that are

placed around the wrist for identification purposes (demonstrating the

wearer's authorization to be at a venue, for example).

Silicone wristbands

More recently, wristbands, often made of silicone, are worn to demonstrate

the wearer's support of a cause or charitable organization, similar to

awareness ribbons. Such wristbands are sometimes called symbands to

distinguish them from other types of wristbands.

One of the first charitable organizations to make use of silicone wristbands

as a way of demonstrating support for a cause was the yellow Livestrong

wristband created in 2004 by the Lance Armstrong Foundation. By early

2005, symbands became popular with many charities, such as Make

Poverty History and the BBC's Beat Bullying campaign.

There is also another type of Wristband called Web band. It is an online

version of the real wristband.