A bangle of my own!

...aand it's silver! I totally love the color of copper but I just can't get over the smell + upkeep. After careful comparison, the copper one was indeed slightly smaller than an equal sized silver. It could be due to the cold weather (8 degrees in Hong Kong! Unheard of!!), shrinking the less dense material? Their smallest silver bangle was wide enough to fall off my wrist which was worrying, but the SA helped me bend it and then it fit fine! Very happy with this new clean way of wearing troll. ^__^



This was supposed to be a birthday treat for next month, but my husband pointed out we'll be very busy in the coming two weeks so took me out to get it early. Good, because now I can finally stop daydreaming about it! xD

Oh, also, played with the new releases in store. That new side-ring looked awful silly on me, the heavy part would spin down and the beads never stayed in place. The SA was rocking the look with a the new silver flower and a glass though. It seemed to stay put on HER finger, through some witchcraft or other. Maybe you need to find the right combination of beads to make it work, I dunno. Not for me. The crane lock was really very beautiful, but I'm still waiting on a novobeads lock so gave that a pass for now.

They also had a whole box of ambers, but I'm not an amber pro so would love tips on picking a nice amber next time! What do you guys usually look for in an amber?

Ambers are so lovely, you really can't go wrong.  Personally, I loved the faceted ambers and ambers with markings in them, like the WT amber.  Amber can be shaped like a bead, like a barrel, like a bicone.  Ambers can be tiny and huge.  Some people just collect a certain hue, some collect the spectrum.  Sometimes, you can even find bugs in your amber if you are really lucky!  There are dirty ambers that look kind of crusty, but are treasured.  You can get ambers with a lot of bits that make it look sugared.  Take a good look at that box and I am sure you heart will skip a beat with one or some!

Congratulations  Your combo really looks beautiful  As to choosing amber, I always look if maybe there is one with a tiny insect, and once DH really found one  An amber with an insect I would always take home as they are very rare and just wonderful. Other than that I go with what "speaks" to me. Only the very light ones I do not like that much.

The bangle looks great on your wrist and I love the beads you chose to put on it!

I'm also not an expert in picking amber. I love the warm colors and the lightweightness of them, but I only have one bracelet and one or two scattered over other bracelets with them and that's enough for me.

I agree with what ceruleanbluebird and Trollperle said, you can't go wrong if you pick what speaks to you

Beautiful amber rainbow cerulean! And what a way to use a bangle. I didn't think it'd look good with more than 5 beads, but you've proved me wrong!

Trollperle wrote:Congratulations  Your combo really looks beautiful  As to choosing amber, I always look if maybe there is one with a tiny insect, and once DH really found one  An amber with an insect I would always take home as they are very rare and just wonderful. Other than that I go with what "speaks" to me. Only the very light ones I do not like that much.

oh my gosh! Can I see a photo of this buggy amber? What kind of insect is trapped in yours?

At the shop I joked, do you have one with an insect? DH was quick to add "like jurassic park", lol. And the SA was like haha no way, but maybe if you bring a magnifying glass you'll find some microorganisms. xD After reading your posts I just yelled at husband "you really can find ones with insects!!!!" Soooo that's what I'll be looking for next time! Might bring a magnifying glass just in case! Hahaha


re: picking one that 'speaks' to me; the whole box was just sooo huge, at least 100 beads, I didn't get a chance to properly see each of them. Next time I'll leave the husband at home and take my sweet time magnifying each one?? For an insect???? Hehe.

100 beads!!!!!  You will definitely find one that speaks to you!  

I don't normally wear more than five beads on my bangle.  I can't recall if I actually wore that amber combo out in public.  I took that picture to demonstrate the spectrum of colors that I owned.  There are spectacular pictures of ambers out there.

With 100 beads, you may be able to find ambers that are close in hue to the coveted (and limited edition) russian amber from years ago.

Mine has a little spider (last bead on the right)

I have heard that the copper bangle is slightly smaller than the silver one, perhaps a bit more oval. Whatever works for you is what's important. I do love the freedom and ease of mini-combos on a bangle.

Insects in amber are rare but they do happen. Beware of fake ambers (not Trollbeads), there is lots of fake amber out there, and the fakers have perfected a way of inserting bugs, too.

I did go on a bit of an amber spree about 2 years ago, I think I probably have about 3 dozen. A side benefit, they are light weight!

Congrats on your bangle and Happy Early Birthday!!

As far as picking amber--I have seen many that I didn't like--so perhaps I am a poor judge.  I think they are great beads that can be paired with most anything.  I prefer chunky, included or carved ones, but even the completely clear smooth ones, bring great character to bracelets.  Most shops near me do not carry many in stock and typically the ones I really like are expensive on the secondary market.  I would love to find a shop that had a huge box of them to look through!!!!!!!!!!! You are very lucky!!

Mine are a mix of artisan and TB.

I love your bangle
I have to try mine with my lucky dragon too

^I think the lucky dragon doesn't really like the bangle... since he's so long and the bangle so stiff, he doesn't turn very well on it! Feels uncomfortable (for him! haha).

LindaJo wrote:I have heard that the copper bangle is slightly smaller than the silver one, perhaps a bit more oval. Whatever works for you is what's important. I do love the freedom and ease of mini-combos on a bangle.

Insects in amber are rare but they do happen. Beware of fake ambers (not Trollbeads), there is lots of fake amber out there, and the fakers have perfected a way of inserting bugs, too.

I did go on a bit of an amber spree about 2 years ago, I think I probably have about 3 dozen. A side benefit, they are light weight!

I didn't notice the copper bangle being more oval, but it was definitely daintier. Either because of cold weather shrinkage or just the design of it, idk. Also noticeably lighter. However, these bangles ARE bendable (apparently!) so I think they can be bent to work with almost any wrist?

And wow, THREE dozen! Did you manage to get any with insects??

Your ambers are gorgeous, kyhalfpt! I really like your odd shaped ones. Also I'm finding the foxtail type bracelets look much better in photos (and with full combos), but I just really really love the simplicity of the bangle in actual use.

AND it gives me a trillion combos with just my handful of beads! Having a lot of fun mixing stuff around, since it takes all of 5 seconds to make a new combo. The husband even came along to play; this one's his making:


"Be positive, I love you, and stay classy??"

Then I stole his idea and changed the centerbead and am now happily wearing it like this:


He's pouting about me changing his combo hahaha. I think he should get his own! xD

A bangle surely is a lot of fun - I,too, love all the possibilities it gives us And your new combos look really beautiful