Bracelets

Braided leather, beaded and stainless steel bracelets, including magnetic-clasp styles that go on one-handed.

Get the length right first. Measure round your wrist just past the bone with a strip of paper, then add about 1.5cm for a bracelet that moves but does not slide over your hand — a little more for a chunky men’s leather bracelet, a little less for a fine beaded one. Most wrists land between 18cm and 21cm.

The clasp matters more than people expect. A magnetic clasp bracelet closes one-handed, which is the difference between wearing it daily and giving up on it, and the steel ones here hold firmly enough for normal wear. Adjustable braided cord slides to fit and needs no clasp at all.

On water: waxed cord, shell and titanium steel are fine in the sea and the shower. Real leather is not — it stiffens and darkens once it has been soaked and dried, so take a braided leather bracelet off before swimming. Norse and Viking rune styles here are cast in steel on leather, so only the leather needs that care.

More in Jewellery: Earrings, Necklaces & Chains, Rings, Anklets.