How bangles are made, by material
Bangles look simple, but the three main materials fail in different ways.
- Glass bangles. Firozabad is the Town of Export Excellence for glass artwares, holds the "Firozabad Glass" GI (application 155), and is the Uttar Pradesh ODOP district for glass products, with bangles named on the ODOP page. A glass bangle is formed from a coil of drawn glass cut into rings, and the two cut ends of each ring are fused in a flame. That joint, and any decoration added after, are where most defects start. Glass bangles (HS 7018 10 10) were worth US$4.47 million of exports in FY2025-26 (TradeStat, provisional).
- Metal bangles and kadas. Brass or copper tube, wire or casting, solid or hollow, often plated and lacquered; some open on a hinge or screw. Metal bangles of base metal (HS 7117 19 10) were worth US$7.97 million in the same year.
- Lac bangles. Coloured lac is heated and worked over a core, then pressed with glass pieces, stones or beads while warm. Lac softens in heat and the stones can drop out.
Bangles are usually sold in sets in a fixed size, so one wrong size or one broken piece spoils a whole set.
Bangle sizes and how we measure them
Indian bangle sizes are written as 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 2.8 and 2.10. They mean inches plus sixteenths of the inner diameter: 2.4 is 2 and 4/16 inches, about 57 mm, and 2.10 is 2 and 10/16 inches, about 67 mm. Buyers abroad often order in millimetres or by S, M and L, so the size system must be fixed in the purchase order.
The inspector measures inner diameter with a stepped bangle gauge or calipers at two points 90° apart, because hand-formed glass and lac bangles are rarely perfectly round. A set is checked for mixed sizes, and openable bangles are measured closed. Size is recorded against the tolerance you set, for example ±1 mm.
What we check on bangles
| Check | How it is checked | What fails |
|---|---|---|
| Inner diameter | Gauge or calipers at two points | Outside tolerance; mixed sizes in one set |
| Glass cracks and chips | Each sampled bangle turned under a strong light; tapped gently for a dull sound | Hairline cracks, chips on the inner edge, sharp burrs |
| Fused joint | Joint located and examined for steps, bubbles and thin spots | Raised step that scratches, visible gap or weak thin joint |
| Paint and gilding | Rub with a damp white cloth and a fingernail on the inside face | Colour transfers, gold flakes, paint on the inner surface where it touches skin |
| Plating and lacquer | Coverage on edges and inside; lacquer for runs and bubbles | Base metal showing, peeling lacquer, tarnish under the lacquer |
| Stones and lac work | Press test on stones; lac surface for cracks and soft spots | Loose or missing stones, lac cracked or deformed |
| Hinges and screws | Open and close openable bangles several times | Screw stripped, hinge pin loose, bangle does not close flush |
| Set count | Pieces per set and sets per box against the order | Short sets, wrong colour mix |
Common bangle defects and how they are classed
| Defect | Typical cause | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Cracked glass bangle or one with a sharp chipped edge | Thermal stress at the joint, knocks in handling | Critical |
| Lab result over the lead or cadmium limit | Leaded paint or gilding, cadmium pigments, leaded brass | Critical |
| Size outside tolerance or mixed sizes in a set | Rings cut from the wrong coil, poor sorting | Major |
| Paint or gilding rubs off | Cold paint not cured, cheap gold liquid | Major |
| Loose or missing stones | Lac too cool when pressed, weak glue | Major |
| Plating worn through on the inside | Thin plating, polishing after plating | Major |
| Small bubbles in glass | Melt quality | Minor |
| Slight colour variation within the agreed range | Batch-to-batch glass or lac colour | Minor |
Your defect list decides the final class.
Market rules for bangles
- EU. Bangles are jewellery under REACH: each part below 0.05% lead (entry 63), metal parts below 0.01% cadmium (entry 23), and metal in prolonged skin contact within the nickel release limit (entry 27). Paint and gilding on glass are not crystal glass and are not exempt from the lead limit. See EU nickel, lead and cadmium rules and REACH.
- US. Bangles designed or marketed mainly for children 12 and under are children's products: 100 ppm total lead in accessible parts, testing by a CPSC-accepted lab and a Children's Product Certificate. See CPSIA children's products.
- California. Lead in brass, paint and glass decoration can trigger a Prop 65 warning. See Prop 65.
Lead, cadmium and nickel release are lab tests, arranged through lab testing coordination.
Packing, transit and your purchase order
Glass bangles break in transit if they can move. Sets should be stacked tight on a card, tube or cord, wrapped, and packed in rigid inner boxes with no free space; the inspector shakes sample inner boxes, checks carton strength and opens packed cartons to count breakage. Lac bangles must not be packed hot or stacked under weight, because lac deforms. Metal bangles need separation to stop scratches and anti-tarnish bags where agreed.
Put these in your purchase order:
- Material and construction: glass, solid or hollow metal, lac over which core, openable or closed.
- Size system (Indian, mm or S/M/L), sizes per set and tolerance.
- Decoration: paint, gilding, stones, and a rub test standard.
- Plating colour reference and lacquer for metal bangles.
- Packing: pieces per set, sets per box, inner box type and an acceptable breakage level, if any.
- Lab tests per lot: lead and cadmium in glass decoration, paint, lac and metal; nickel release on metal.
Firozabad is outside our base cities, so travel is charged at actual cost; see pricing. Book an inspection.
Sources
- DGFT: Appendix 1B, Towns of Export Excellence (Firozabad)
- ODOP Uttar Pradesh: Firozabad glass products
- IP India GI Registry: Firozabad Glass, application 155
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 836/2012, lead in jewellery, entry 63 (EUR-Lex)
- Department of Commerce, TradeStat: commodity-wise exports (HS 70181010, 71171910, FY2025-26 provisional)