Bracelets

A bracelet is an article of clothing or jewelry which is worn round the wrist. Bracelets can be manufactured from fabric or metal, and sometimes contain rocks, wood, and / or shells. Bracelets are also used for medical and identification, such as allergy bracelets and hospital tags. Late in the 1980 "snap bracelets, metal bracelets covered with felt that curves around your wrist when gently hit against it, were a popular fashion.

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 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 No. 1 woman tennis player and winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, was playing in the U.S. Open. She wore a sleek, lightweight diamond line bracelet, which accidentally broke and the match was interrupted to allow Chris to recover her precious diamonds. The incident 'tennis bracelet' has unleashed 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 bracelet, the term 'may be technically similar, means an item that sits on the arm. The origin of the term 'bracelet' is from Latin brachile''meaning 'arm', via the Old French Barcelo '. Taken in the plural, bracelets is often used as slang for handcuffs.

Wristbands
Wristbands are encircling strips worn on the wrist, made of one of several materials depending on the purpose. The term can be used to refer to the bracelet-like band of a wristwatch on the wrist or other part of a sleeve covering the wrist, or for decorative or functional bands worn on the wrist for other reasons.

A common type of wristband is the loops of plastic or Tyvek that are placed around the wrist for identification (demonstrating the wearer's authorization to be in one place, for example).

Silicone bracelets
More recently, bracelets often made of silicone, are worn to show support for the wearer of a cause or charitable organization, similar to awareness ribbons. These bracelets are sometimes called symbands be distinguished from other types of bracelets.

One of the first charities to use silicone bracelets as a way of showing support for a cause was the yellow Livestrong wristband created in 2004 by the Lance Armstrong Foundation. In early 2005, symbands become 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. This is an online version of the actual bracelet.