That jingle you hear is the sound of bracelets becoming fashionable. Leading the style pack are bulky ones adorned with shiny glass beads or freshwater pearls.
Swarovski Japan Ltd. says young Japanes…
That jingle you hear is the sound of bracelets becoming fashionable. Leading the style pack are bulky ones adorned with shiny glass beads or freshwater pearls. Swarovski Japan Ltd. says young Japanese women started liking the gleam in crystal glass around 1997, and recently have started to adorn their wrists with it. A 3cm-wide bracelet that has crystal woven in metal mesh from the Daniel Swarovski label is a popular product, the company says. The bracelet comes in two colours, purple and black, and costs 15,000 yen. A 13,000 yen bracelet made with elastic metal wire is also popular, as it is easy to put on and take off. Cushka Co., an accessory maker in Tokyo, says bracelet sales have grown since the end of 1999. The company expects sales for fiscal 2000 to double from a year earlier. A set of six bangles made of glass beads and semi-precious stones such as peridot and rose quartz priced at 6,000 yen is selling well. Multicolour bracelets are popular, as are those that combine many materials such as freshwater pearls, semi-precious stones, antique beads, metal and plastic. Cushka observes that people want to adorn their arms and wrists, because sleeveless tops are in. The company says whether the product is easy to put on and off is critical in becoming a best-seller. A bracelet with 10 strands of beads made by Two“s, an accessory wholesaler, priced at 1,000 yen has a wide range of fans from teenagers to women in their 40s. Pink and lavender are popular colours. The company says it started out with a normal bangle, but it noticed that bulky ones with more strands sold well. Two“s plans to market bangles with 20 strands for 1,800 yen soon. At Printemps Ginza, glass-bead bracelets with many strands, priced at around 2,000 yen, as well as rosary-type bangles using power stones, priced at 1,200 yen, are proving a hit.