The first one I had was a thin silver chain from a market stall with a single charm shaped like a star, and it turned green on my wrist within about a fortnight. The lesson wasn't about taste, it was about metal, and I've checked what things are plated in ever since.
If you've never owned one and you're wondering where to start, go simple before you go sentimental. A plain chain bracelet with two or three charms already attached is a better first buy than an empty one you plan to fill over time, because empty ones sit in a drawer looking unfinished and you end up never wearing it until it's "done". Pick something with a decent clasp, a proper lobster clasp or a bolt ring rather than a bendy hook, because that's the part that actually fails, not the charms. Stick to one metal tone to start. Mixing gold and silver charms can look brilliant once you know what you're doing, but on a first bracelet it just looks like you grabbed things at random, which, let's be honest, you probably did.
These earn their keep from autumn through to the depths of winter, when you're in jumpers with sleeves that cover your wrist anyway and the bracelet peeks out just enough to look intentional. Layer them under a cuff for something daytime, or stack two or three for evenings and they catch the light nicely under any sort of low lighting. Summer is trickier. Bare arms, swimming, sun cream, all the things that get into the links and dull them, plus a dangling charm bracelet and small children or dogs do not mix, speaking from one memorable afternoon I'd rather not relate in full. If you're at the beach or the pool, it comes off.
How it ages depends entirely on what it's made of and how much you fuss over it. A gold plated one will start showing the base metal at the clasp and any charm that rubs against your watch or your sleeve button first, usually within a year of regular wear. Solid silver tarnishes but polishes back up with a cloth in a couple of minutes, which is honestly satisfying to do while watching something on the telly. Keep it away from perfume and hairspray, take it off before you shower, and store it flat rather than tangled in a dish with everything else, because charms catch on each other and the jump rings bend open over time. A soft cloth pouch does more for the thing than any amount of careful wearing.
When you try one on, check it sits loose enough to move and catch the light but not so loose it swings round and faces the wrong way on your wrist.
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