Sterling Silver 5.5mm Plain Solid Comfort Fit Bangle

A solid bangle is a single closed form with no clasp and no join to work loose. Everything about how it wears is decided by two things: the section of the band and the inside diameter.

Comfort fit describes the inner face. Instead of a flat band with square edges, the inside is domed so that only the centre of the band touches the wrist. Less surface in contact means less friction and no edge to press, which is what allows a solid bangle to be worn continuously rather than taken off at the end of the day.

This one is sterling silver, 5.5 mm in section and solid throughout — not hollow-formed. Section is what keeps a bangle round: a thin bangle goes oval the first time it is knocked, and once oval it never passes over the hand the same way again.

Choosing a size. Sizes here are inside diameters in millimetres. To find yours, tuck your thumb into your palm as though putting the bangle on, measure around the widest part of the closed hand with a tape or a strip of paper, and divide that circumference by 3.14. A 60 mm bangle needs a hand circumference of about 188 mm to pass over. Round up rather than down — a solid bangle cannot be opened to get it on.

Specification

• Metal: sterling silver (925)
• Width: 5.5 mm
• Construction: Solid, closed — no hinge or clasp
• Section: Flat outer face, domed (comfort-fit) inner face
• Finish: Polished
• Sizes: 47mm, 50mm, 54mm, 57mm, 60mm, 64mm, 67mm, 70mm, 73mm inside diameter
• Sold as: Single bangle

Sterling silver is 925 parts per thousand fine silver, the balance copper. The copper is what makes it workable — fine silver on its own is too soft to hold a form — and it is also why sterling tarnishes: the copper reacts with sulphur in the air. Tarnish is a surface film, not corrosion. It polishes off with a silver cloth and the metal beneath is unchanged.

Servicing. A solid bangle of this section can be gently re-rounded by a jeweller if it is knocked out of true, which is not possible with a hollow one. Store silver closed — a box or a zip bag — when it is not being worn. Tarnish is driven by air rather than by wear, so the pieces that sit in the open are the ones that darken first.