Tiger Bracelet

On a tiger bracelet, the animal sits right where the sleeve ends and the hand begins, in view every time the wrist turns. The bracelets in this collection give the tiger very different settings: a sculpted head locked into a band of heavy metal links, a small snarling head set among matte black beads, and a braided cord closed by carved heads in the Norse style. Between them they run from polished and imposing to dark and rugged.

A tiger bracelet in metal, beads or leather

The most imposing design is metal from end to end. Its band is built from chunky, articulated links, bright on the high points and darkened in the recesses, and at the center sits a sculpted tiger head with green eyes, a gold-tone nose and an open, snarling mouth. The stripes across the face are cut deep enough to hold shadow, which keeps the expression sharp from every angle, and the links interlock like segments of armor as they curve around the wrist. It fastens with a box clasp and comes in three lengths, 18cm, 20cm and 22cm, with a choice of material listed on its page.

The Tiger Effigy Beads Bracelet takes a lighter route. A ring of round matte black beads frames a small metal head at the front, fangs bared and brow lined with stripes, with three slim metal spacers on each side. The matte finish of the beads leaves all the shine to the head, where the eye lands first. Shown in gold tone, it is also offered in silver, rose gold, steel, bronze and copper, so the head can read warm or cool against the black.

The Viking Tiger Bracelet looks north for its inspiration. Silver-tone barrel beads engraved with runes and knotwork slide along a braided black cord, and both ends finish in carved heads with long snouts, square teeth and coats of zigzags and spirals, one of them gripping the polished ring that closes the bracelet. Runes were the letters of the Norse world, cut into stone, wood and metal long before the Latin alphabet took hold in Scandinavia. Its options list black leather or steel.

Animal heads with a long history

Bracelets that end in animal heads go back more than two thousand years. Greek goldsmiths of the Hellenistic period finished bangles with lion and ram heads, and Viking-age smiths closed arm rings with stylized beasts, the tradition the corded design draws on. Placing the head at the center, as on the link and bead designs, makes it the focal point instead, the first thing anyone notices on the wrist.

Finishes, lengths and fit

Color changes the mood of a tiger bracelet more than anything else. Gold, bronze and copper tones look warm and slightly antique against black beads, while silver tones and steel look cooler and sit comfortably next to a steel watch. Rose gold falls in between, softer than yellow gold and warmer than silver.

Fit depends on the design. The link bracelet comes in its three lengths, the beaded one has no clasp and rolls on over the hand, and the Viking piece fastens with the ring held in one of its carved heads. A tape measure or a strip of paper around the wrist gives a number to compare with the link lengths, plus a little room for comfort.

Bold pieces and lighter ones

The heavy link bracelet and the leather-corded Viking piece have weight and presence, and either one makes a bold men's tiger bracelet. The beaded design is lighter and quieter, at home on any wrist, and it sits easily beside other beaded bracelets or a watch strap.

A symbol of courage across Asia

The tiger has carried meaning for a very long time. Chinese tradition calls it the king of the beasts and sees the character 王, meaning king, in the stripes on its forehead, and it is one of the twelve animals of the zodiac. In Korea, folk paintings pair a tiger with a magpie, and the tiger in them was believed to keep evil spirits away. A tiger bracelet makes a thoughtful gift for someone born in a Year of the Tiger, or for anyone who takes the animal as a personal emblem of strength. Some go further and regard the tiger as a totem animal; our article on the tiger totem explores what that belief says about the people it is meant to guide.

Looking for the stone instead?

Tiger eye makes another kind of piece altogether: a golden-brown stone with a band of light that glides across it, named for its likeness to a cat's eye rather than for any picture of the animal. Bracelets strung with it, from strands of the stone alone to mixes with black and gray beads and charms such as an owl or a heart, are gathered in our tiger eye bracelet collection.

Pieces to wear alongside

A watch is a bracelet's most frequent neighbor, and a tiger watch keeps the theme going, either with a tiger engraved into a wooden dial or as a pocket watch with a tiger in relief on its lid. Closer to the fingertips, a tiger ring repeats the head in sculpted metal, alongside claws and signet designs. All of these belong to our wider tiger jewelry collection, which adds pendants, necklaces and earrings.

Answers about fit and finish

Which design comes in several lengths?

The link bracelet with the sculpted head, offered at 18cm, 20cm and 22cm. The beaded and corded designs have no length option.

Which metal tones does the beaded bracelet come in?

The Tiger Effigy Beads Bracelet is listed in gold, silver, rose gold, steel, bronze and copper tones.

How does the Viking Tiger Bracelet close?

With a polished ring held in the jaws of one of its carved heads.