A slide bracelet has a fastener resembling a buckle through which a textile or other material can be passed and secured. The difference between a buckle and a slider is that the latter does not have a fastening pin.

The term is also used for bracelets consisting of Victorian or Victorian retrospective slides on two or more chains. Victorian slides were not originally used as links in bracelets but as slides on watch chains. As fashions changed and pocket watches were replaced by wristwatches the slides were removed from the chains and strung on bracelets, sometimes one row and sometimes two. They vary in ornamentation from gold with engraving and taille d’epargne (black enamel tracery) and can be set with seed pearls, diamonds and gemstones and often have gold dimensional appliqués. Some slides were also created by appliquéing the heads of stickpins to a slide box, again in the style of the true chain slides even at the end of the 19th century. With these appliqué style slides, there was as great a variety of details, subject matter, and gemstones as there were stickpins, a favorite and very personal ornament. The slide bracelet became popular again in the 1940s when there was a retrospective of Victorian jewelry styles. These bracelets are usually medium to large, chunky and usually imitate the stick pin appliqué style.