Miu Miu stayed there until 10 o'clock in the evening, and finally waited for her favorite blogger to "link".

She has bought three bracelets on Xiaohongshu, the most expensive one costing 1,400 yuan. The popularity of bracelets has attracted many HE Tuber "bracelet bloggers" to follow suit. Led by content e-commerce platforms such as Xiaohongshu, brightly colored beads fill the information flow. A search by "Tianxia Online Business" found that most of the bracelets sold by popular bloggers are priced at a few hundred yuan. They are not only well versed in trends such as "national fashion" and "dopamine color matching", but they also do not forget to manage fan groups and post popular science tips from time to time. String knowledge.

As a small accessory, bracelets are consumed both online and offline.

Taobao, as a solid online base, is the first choice for most buyers; Xiaohongshu relies on a prosperous content ecosystem, with a large number of bloggers displaying bracelets here; some sellers will also record and upload the process of making bracelets to Station b directs viewers to online stores or private WeChat to purchase.

This trend has also spread to offline retail stores and wholesale markets. It goes without saying that there is a specialized jewelry market. Even when Wu Shan visited 10-yuan stores such as Miniso, she found that the store's bracelet display area had been moved to the most eye-catching position at the door.

There are artificial crystals that cost just a few yuan each, as well as "orphan design items" that cost tens of thousands of yuan. In Miu Miu’s Xiaohongshu store, the most expensive bracelet is priced at 15,800 yuan, and the loose beeswax beads sold individually cost 199 yuan each.

Pages of some Xiaohongshu bracelet bloggers

At present, there are no statistical data specifically for the bracelet category on the market. Only iiMedia Consulting listed bracelets as a type of "craft works" in the "2021 China Cultural Toy E-commerce Industry Development Research Report". The report predicts that as the number of young people interested in Wenwan gradually increases, the number of Wenwan e-commerce users will exceed 100 million in 2023, and the transaction scale will exceed 500 billion yuan.

 Z this time do not highlight the "cultural play" attribute. According to Cheche, most consumers just spend hundreds of dollars to find a toy that can be held in their hands. The affordable price of bracelets "is the most important part of this bracelet craze."

Fresh playthings are like bait thrown into schools of fish, arousing the periodic enthusiasm of young people. Wu Shan said that one of her classmates has nearly 20 bracelets in the dormitory. Depending on the combination of the bracelets with clothing and accessories, they can wear them for a week. Miu Miu remembers that the most obsessed friend around him would wear three or five bracelets of various kinds, "That hand is like a jewelry display."

3. Ask for something

Bracelets, as cultural toys, are attached with the belief of "preservation of value"; for those young people who wrap their wrists with bracelets, their starting point has been away from pure aesthetic decoration, but has infused them with various " Wish" bonus.

On social platforms, posts about praying for “good luck” through bracelets are common. Specific to wealth, official luck, love luck, and even postgraduate entrance examinations and public examinations, there are corresponding bracelet types. Some netizens posted and shared: White crystal is suitable for wearing when reciting a lot, black crystal helps thinking and solving problems, and amethyst can soothe emotions and calm down before exams.

The eighteen-seed bracelets that were popular on the Internet claimed to be “comprehensive” in terms of functions. Eighteen kinds of beads each have their own effects: blood sandalwood calms and soothes the mind, sunstone represents vitality, and red agate brings courage, strength and confidence... According to the traditional view, this kind of bracelets must be "invited" from the temple. As a result, there has been an endless stream of "help requests" on social media.

Previously, the eighteen-seed bracelet "Same as Lingyin Temple" produced by the jewelry brand IWE caused heated discussions among consumers because it violated the invisible rule of "sincerity leads to spirituality".

"change their luck"? That doesn't seem to be the case either. If the middle-aged and elderly people's preference for hand strings still has some religious overtones, the attitude of young people is more casual: it's best if you can change your luck, but it's okay if you can't. Cheche feels that this is like fortune telling and tarot cards, "just for psychological comfort."

Eighteen-seed bracelets purchased at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou (photo provided by interviewee)

After removing the price tag, shopping returns to the pure "pleasure of oneself". The need for identification, the preference for low-priced jewelry, and the prayer for personal fortune have caused the seemingly ancient bracelet to set off a small craze among young people.

During the May Day holiday, Xiaoyu, a tourist from Beijing, queued for three hours at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, and finally got his wish to "request" an eighteen-seed bracelet. The bracelet sold for 46 yuan, and he couldn't hide his excitement: "In the Forbidden City, a (similar) one costs 390 yuan!"

In the eyes of those who pray, this is a treasure that can protect themselves and their safety and happiness; but in the eyes of young people who value practicality, the mysterious blessing of the bracelet does not seem so solemn. When Xiaoyu was floundering in the long queue at Lingyin Temple, Wu Shanggang bought a same-style eighteen-seed bracelet for 30 yuan from a vendor in Yiwu, who claimed to be a supplier to many temples.

She held up the bracelet and muttered: "Sincerity leads to spiritual success!"

*The names of the interviewees in this article are pseudonyms.