Gold ID Bracelets: The Plate, the Chain and What Can Be Engraved
Solid 14ct gold ID bracelets, 3.9g to 16.91g. How the plate is joined to the chain, what depth of engraving lasts, and which weight carries lettering best.
Quick answer
There are 116 of them, from 3.9g to 16.91g (median 8.2g) and from £910 to £4,050 (median £1,940). All are solid 14ct gold, never plated or filled, 7.5 inches as standard and sized to your wrist before dispatch.
Two components, one weak point
An ID bracelet is two different objects joined together: a solid plate and a length of chain. Everything that matters about how it wears comes from that junction. The plate is rigid and the chain is flexible, so every time the wrist moves, the bending happens at the two links immediately either side of the plate — not spread along the chain the way it is on a plain bracelet.
That is where an ID bracelet fails, and it is why the joining links should be heavier than the rest of the chain. On the pieces we make, the connector either side of the plate is built up rather than matched to the chain, which is invisible when you look at the bracelet and is the single thing most worth asking about when you look at anyone else's.
Plate thickness matters for a different reason: engraving. A plate has to be thick enough that a cut deep enough to last does not go through to the back or leave a ghost on the underside. Thin plates take shallow lettering, and shallow lettering polishes away over years of wear against a cuff. Our lightest ID is 3.90g and that is about the floor for a plate that will still read in a decade.
Who wears one, and on which wrist
An ID is the only bracelet we make that has a front and a back, and that changes how it is worn. It is normally worn on the non-dominant wrist with the plate on the outside, which puts the engraved face where it is read and the chain where it is not rubbed against a desk.
It does not layer. The plate needs a clear run of wrist either side, and anything sitting next to it will rub the plate face. If you wear a watch, wear the ID on the other arm.
Weight choice here is about the plate, not the bracelet. Around our median of 8.2g — this 8.20g piece is representative — the plate is wide enough for a name in a readable size. At the top of our range, 16.91g, the plate carries two lines comfortably.
116 ID bracelets, from plate to price
We hold 116 ID bracelets. Weights run 3.9g to 16.91g, median 8.2g. Only tennis stops lower, and that ceiling is deliberate — past about 17g the plate becomes wide enough to catch on a sleeve every time the hand goes into a pocket.
Prices run £910 to £4,050, median £1,940 — the second-lowest median of any pattern we make, because an ID puts its metal into one simple flat shape rather than into dozens of small ones.
This is also the only bracelet collection we hold that contains all four of our golds: 111 yellow, 3 two-tone, 1 rose and 1 white gold. All are solid 14ct, never plated, and 111 of the 116 can be made in 9ct or 18ct instead. Standard length 7.5 inches.
Engraving, cleaning and adjustment
Engraving is done before the bracelet is finished, so the cut edges are polished rather than left raw — that is what stops lettering from collecting dirt and going grey. If you want the plate engraved, tell us at the point of order rather than after; engraving a finished piece means re-polishing it.
Cleaning is the simplest of any pattern here. The plate takes a soft cloth; the chain takes warm soapy water and a brush. What you should not do is polish the plate with an abrasive cloth — repeated abrasive polishing is what wears lettering shallow over a decade, not ordinary wear.
Length is adjusted in the chain, not at the plate, so an ID can be shortened in the same small steps as any link chain. An ID wants to be slightly looser than a plain bracelet: if it is tight, the plate sits on the side of the wrist rather than the top. Free resizing, free return postage, made to order or in stock, most orders arrive within 14 days, and we ship worldwide. Gold items are UK hallmarked at the London Assay Office on qualifying pieces.
Other ways to carry an engraving
An ID is not the only bracelet with a surface to mark. Bar Link — both are built around a flat solid face rather than a repeating open link. Medallion — the other family we make with a flat surface intended to be marked.
To see the pieces themselves rather than read about them, browse all 116 ID bracelets — and the main guide has the wrist-measuring method in full in the gold bracelet guide.
Frequently asked questions
How deep should engraving be?
Deep enough that you can feel it with a fingernail. Anything shallower is a surface mark and will fade with wear against a cuff. That depth needs plate thickness behind it, which is why we do not engrave the very lightest plates with long inscriptions.
Can the plate be re-engraved later?
The existing lettering has to be machined out and the plate re-polished, which takes metal off. It can be done once comfortably on a mid-weight plate. On a light plate it usually cannot be done without thinning it too far.
Why does my ID bracelet twist so the plate ends up underneath?
Almost always because it is too loose. An ID needs enough room to move but not enough to rotate; if it turns, it should come in to be shortened, and resizing is free.
Which side is engraved?
Either, and both is possible on a plate thick enough. Front engraving is read by other people, back engraving by the wearer. We ask which before we cut.