We received this lovely email from a charm collector this week, which perfectly illustrates how charms can each represent a passion, milestone or meaning.
Dear Charmarama,
I would love to share some pictures with you of my charm collection, not on a bracelet but on a necklace: my orchestra necklace! I started this collection when I was fifteen and had decided that I wanted to study at the conservatoire and become a professional musician. At the time I had a lot of friends who wore a necklace with a charm of their instrument, but I wanted to become a conductor so my instrument was the orchestra, and I just asked for a necklace and any music-themed charms for my country’s equivalent of Christmas. My mother gave me my first necklace and charms of a flute and an eighth note, and every subsequent birthday or gift-giving occasion I would continue asking for and receiving new charms.
By now, thirteen years later, not only did I achieve my goal and manage to become a conductor, pianist and conservatoire teacher, but my necklace has also become quite substantial and very personal, with most of the charms being gifts or otherwise special to me. My brothers gave me the saxophone; I bought the flugelhorn when I got accepted into the conducting program; the bass guitar was a gift from an aunt; the tuba comes from a member of my orchestra; the banjo is an early Christmas gift from a colleague, etc. I upgraded the necklace chain once to a more sturdy one on which I could mount the charms instead of having them all dangle from the middle.
I’m still adding to this necklace, as I have so far not yet collected all instruments and otherwise music-related charms. My next charm is always a surprise to me as I never specify an exact charm to people that want to give me one, just tell them the ones I already have. This also ensures that people tend to choose a charm that speaks to them personally, which makes the gift even more fun.
