Vintage Pearl Button Charm Bracelet

Using Bails to Attach Vintage Pearls to a Bracelet

I saw today at an art show a beautiful charm bracelet made from pretty pearl buttons.

They were not drilled or glued but attached to the jump rings by a small silver piece that bent over the front and back of the button without destroying the button.

The bracelet I saw had small silver clamps that covered the front of the button with a small decorative clamp and on the back a small piece of silver that supported the button. Connected to this was the means to attach to the jump ring.

When I asked the lady who made it she said she purchased many of them from a local area store called The Tall Mouse. Long story here but I am looking for a place to purchase such items.

I have a large collection of white pearl buttons. Some are flat, some are flat with holes, some are square and other shapes with holes or some without. Antique buttons should never be destroyed by holes.

I would appreciate any help you can give.

Thank you for your response.

Crys

I think what you need are bails.

Bails are metal findings designed with a loop to attach to a jump ring on one end and something to attach to a pendant or charm at the other.

There are many types. The ones which might work with your pearl buttons are prong (also called ice pick) bails, fold-over bails or glue pad bails.

I'm afraid there is no way to safely attach bails without either drilling a hole at the very top of the charm/pendant or using epoxy or jeweler's glue to bond the bail to the charm.

There are three Tall Mouse Arts and Crafts centers in California (Yorba Linda, Cerritos and Laguna Niguel) where you could examine the various types and get advice from the staff.

If none of these locations is close to you, a wide selection of bails is available online from Rings & Things. You will find photos of the various types of bails there.

Prong bails actually look like mini-ice picks or ice tongs. The bail folds over the charm and the little picks are inserted into the drilled hole to secure the charm.

Fold-over bails come in many designs. A leaf design on both sides is common. You fold the bail over the charm, leaving the loop for jump ring free, and glue one leaf to the front and one to the back of the charm.

What you describe sounds like a glue pad bail, though I haven't seen any with clamps that cover the front. Usually there is simply a flat disk which is glued to the back of a pendant with a loop on the top for the jump ring.

I hope this is helpful.

Thank you, I am going to play around with some bails I purchased today.

I think I can create something with them, I may have to use glue but that will be OK.

Thank you again for your help.

Crys

You're welcome Crys. I'm going through my own stash of vintage buttons and also have a bunch of vintage rhinestones to play with.

Your description of the pearl button charm bracelet inspired me - especially when I saw similar (though much simpler) charm bracelets offered for $30 on eBay!

Just purchased my bails at Tall House.

I got 12 so I would have a nice balance on my bracelet. I found silver bails with lovely leaves at each end. I will let you know how it turns out.

Oh by the way the bracelets I saw were going for $75.00 and people were buying them. Thanks

Crys