Show us your Traditional Charm Bracelets....

[LondonGal]

I hope these bracelets become really fashionable again. My local jeweller tells me he's scrapped dozens over the last few years. He specialises in old/antique jewellery but has found that most customers wander in looking for Pandora and the like.

It breaks my heart to see some of those lovely and unique charms going for scrap value.

 

[lambskin]

Gold charm bracelets have really become an expensive hobby. I started mine in 1988 and collected charms until gold hit the roof. I inherited charms from my mom and added those as well. I have not bought any new charms in years. Instead of buying a university charm I had my nursing pin and sorority pin mounted on gold discs. If the actual charm for the university is cost prohibitive or you do not like the style then you can always go for the school mascot. Most likely you can get a mascot charm off of ebay or in second hand stores-especially if it is a generic mascot such as a cardinal, tiger, eagle, bear,lion, etc. or you can get a second hand gold disc off of ebay and have a jeweler engrave the name of the school and date of graduation. I started silver charm bracelets for my daughters and have yet to put it together. I fear there are too many charms for a bracelet and considered a charm necklace or two bracelets. I have bought most of the girls' charms overseas and my long trusted jeweler who put on my charms has died. I thought about taking it to Mexico City when on vacation and having it done there but that sounds a little risky and extreme. I think I was quoted a price of $5 a charm by the local jeweler in town but that was a couple of years ago. That price does not sound unreasonable but each girl has at least 20-30 charms each-ouch!

 

[AGBF]

Instead of buying a university charm I had my nursing pin and sorority pin mounted on gold discs. If the actual charm for the university is cost prohibitive or you do not like the style then you can always go for the school mascot. Most likely you can get a mascot charm off of ebay or in second hand stores-especially if it is a generic mascot such as a cardinal, tiger, eagle, bear,lion, etc. or you can get a second hand gold disc off of ebay and have a jeweler engrave the name of the school and date of graduation.

I think these are great ideas for making a gold charm bracelet more affordable. It may also allow one to get more unique charms. If one can find an animal to represent a school instead of a disc, one may find a better looking charm!

Deb

 

[AGBF]

Some Pricescope members have built gorgeous charm bracelets with charms built from eBay purchases. (Others have found charms in antique shops and pawn shops, but I have never done that.) I am extremely envious of one Christmas charm bracelet a member made very quickly out of charms she purchased on eBay. I couldn't believe what a gorgeous bracelet she made!

This is the bracelet I was referring to...[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/%E2%99%A6%E2%98%85-vintage-christmas-charm-bracelet-pics-%E2%98%85%E2%99%A6.183422/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/%E2%99%A6%E2%98%85-vintage-christmas-charm-bracelet-pics-%E2%98%85%E2%99%A6.183422/[/URL]

Deb/AGBF

 

[Marina87]

Thanks for sharing these awesome charms!

 

[monarch64]

Hi everyone. I posted my charm bracelet pages (and years!) ago in this thread but the photo quality was poor and I never got around to getting better pictures and posting them. Well, I managed to get around to it today so here they are.

 

[AGBF]

The new photos of your bracelet are fabulous, Monnie! I am so glad that you managed to get the time to take them and post them. You have really been on a roll today posting both these new photos of your charm bracelet and also the photos of the charm bracelet you inherited from your grandmother! I could never get that many photos up in a month, never mind a day!

Thank you. But I still hope you will get the photos of your grandmother's bracelet into this thread, too.

PS-I absolutely adore that gold beach pail and shovel. I would steal it from you if I could!

Deb

 

[monarch64]

Thanks, Deb! Glad you are enjoying my photo-posting-mania today! My charm bracelet was given to me by my parents when I graduated college. It has a lot of fond memories attached.

Here are some photos of my grandmother's bracelet, and a link to the thread I made about it earlier:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/vintage-yg-charm-bracelet.216565/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/vintage-yg-charm-bracelet.216565/[/URL]

 

[soocool]

I had a few charm bracelets of my own that I had posted photos of here about 5 years ago. After my DD decided that she did not want any of them and they were just tucked away now being worn, I finally sold them at auction. Remarkable at the amount I got at auction, much more than jewelers were offering me. In addition, I auctioned off a lot of jewelry that was not getting worn.

I thought I would regret selling them, but I do not.

 

[IslandLady]

This is my vintage bracelet! I inherited it from my MIL. The charms are 14, 15 and 20 kt. Can anyone tell me what the charm is the arrow is pointing to? I can tell if its a bear, cat, pig or something else! LOL! Back to perusing all the wonderful bracelets on this thread!

 

[AGBF]

This is my vintage bracelet! I inherited it from my MIL. The charms are 14, 15 and 20 kt. Can anyone tell me what the charm is the arrow is pointing to? I can tell if its a bear, cat, pig or something else! LOL! Back to perusing all the wonderful bracelets on this thread!

I wish I could see it better, but it looks like a cat to me. I would say it is definitely not meant to be a pig or a bear. I guess it could be someone's idea of a Teddy bear, but I think a Teddy bear could be executed better as a charm. So I vote that it is a cat! Where did your mother-in-law grow up? Those karatages of gold are interesting.

Thank you for sharing (and also for reviving this thread!).

Deb/AGBF

ETA-I just enlarged your posting and saw the figure better. It might, indeed, be a pig or a bear...or even a fox. The snout looks as if it might be a pig's snout. The ears look as if they might be a bear's ears. The clue may lie in what the figure is carrying. What is that stick supposed to be? A walking stick? A musical instrument?

 

[stracci2000]

Here is mine, all sterling.
It was a gift from a dear friend. Most of the charms date to the 1960s.

 

[AGBF]

Very nice bracelet, stracci. I am glad this thread came alive so that you felt it was worth sharing it. I love silver. I do not own much silver jewelry, but I just bought a set of Elsa Peretti earrings and a necklace and my mother gave me some Georg Jensen she got during World War II. When it is done well, it is so graceful!

Deb

 

[IslandLady]

Where did your mother-in-law grow up? Those karatages of gold are interesting.
[/QUOTE
Here's a close up of the little guy. I'm thinking bear. But why the stick? I'm thinking he has some kind of significance. She grew up mostly in NY. I don't know how long she had the bracelet, but my FIL travel often to Asian countries for work, so he might have got some charms in his travels.

 

[IslandLady]

I'm beginning to think the bracelet belonged to someone before her as the monkey charm is 15 CT. I read online line It was only a legal standard of gold in British jewellery between 1854 and 1931. My FIL is English. Perhaps it originally belonged to his mother. He was born in 1928. I love unraveling little mysteries!

 

[AGBF]

I have been fixated on what that little guy is holding. I kept wondering if it could be a musical instrument because of the way he is holding it (not like a walking stick). I have wondered what stories it might represent. Could it be the Pied Piper? Could he be supposed to be a rat? Didn't the Pied Piper of Hamlin drive away the rats with his pipe? (I may be way off on this.)

Keep up the info. I love the speculation on the charms!

Deb

 

[Beautiful-disaster]

Resurrecting an old thread because it was so enjoyable and adding to it!

My mother started a gold chain bracelet for me when I was young. It’s 9ct gold As are most of the charms.
Over the years people would gift me charms and she would have her jeweller friend attach the charms to it for us.
A few of them came from Antique stores as my uncle was a dealer.
The bell and the box with the dice have Hallmarks. It’s only vintage because of how old I am now - lol
It was the item always worn on special occasions. I love it because it tinkles with the bell! I would love to get some more articulated charms for it .... I just saw a little old style articulated tram in another thread that made me think of Portugal.
I have my mothers Pandora Charm bracelet - but’s it’s full to the brim and heavy and full of memories with my mum that is just too painful for me.
it’s also silver which I can’t wear.
Maybe wait for a grandchild to hand that down to! By then it will be vintage too! Lmao.

 

[AGBF]

Resurrecting an old thread because it was so enjoyable and adding to it!

My mother started a gold chain bracelet for me when I was young. It’s 9ct gold As are most of the charms.
Over the years people would gift me charms and she would have her jeweller friend attach the charms to it for us.
A few of them came from Antique stores as my uncle was a dealer.
The bell and the box with the dice have Hallmarks. It’s only vintage because of how old I am now - lol
It was the item always worn on special occasions. I love it because it tinkles with the bell! I would love to get some more articulated charms for it .... I just saw a little old style articulated tram in another thread that made me think of Portugal.
I have my mothers Pandora Charm bracelet - but’s it’s full to the brim and heavy and full of memories with my mum that is just too painful for me.
it’s also silver which I can’t wear.
Maybe wait for a grandchild to hand that down to! By then it will be vintage too! Lmao.

It's lovely, @Beautiful-disaster. Thank you for sharing the picture and the story with us. I am glad you resurrected this thread. My charm bracelet has been put away, as has all my jewelry except a pair of gold studs to keep the piercings in my ears open. I still love to read about the jewelry I love, though. Thank you for getting this thread started again. I love traditional charm bracelets.

Deb

 

[AGBF]

I do not have a picture of my charm bracelet as it is now. I do have one of how it looked before I added a charm of a Newfoundland dog, however, and a photo of the charm of the Newfie I then bought and added. I had it made in 18K yellow gold. My last dog before my current rescue was a wonderful, gentle Newfoundland named Griffin.

 

[Beautiful-disaster]

I do not have a picture of my charm bracelet as it is now. I do have one of how it looked before I added a charm of a Newfoundland dog, however, and a photo of the charm of the Newfie I then bought and added. I had it made in 18K yellow gold. My last dog before my current rescue was a wonderful, gentle Newfoundland named Griffin.

Wow!! That’s pretty magnificent! I think I would be looking for occasions just so I could wear it! Lucky you! Thankyou for sharing.

 

[AGBF]

Wow!! That’s pretty magnificent! I think I would be looking for occasions just so I could wear it! Lucky you! Thankyou for sharing.

You made my day, probably my week.

 

[Made in London]

My Tiffany charm bracelet hanging out with her other Tiffany chums

 

[Made in London]

Sorry the pic is too dark.It is a silver coin charm bracelet.It is quite heavy but makes the most beautiful tinkling sound If you click on the pic to enlarge it you can see the coins properly

 

[AGBF]

Sorry the pic is too dark.It is a silver coin charm bracelet.It is quite heavy but makes the most beautiful tinkling sound If you click on the pic to enlarge it you can see the coins properly

This is a wonderful bracelet and enlarging it does help one to see it more clearly, but if you ever get the chance to photograph it in better light, please do. (I am a fine one to ask. I never use my camera anymore now that I switched cameras!) I can only imagine what those coins look like silver! And I love it that it is heavy and makes a tinkling sound. That is a good charm bracelet!

 

[Made in London]

There you goClick on these to really enlarge then you can see the details properly

 

[AGBF]

The bracelet is really gorgeous. Thank you for posting the new photos of it, @Made in London. I enjoyed being able to try to make out the name of countries whose coins were on the bracelet!

 

[Fabulous50]

This is my Tiffany charm bracelet, a gift spanning 10 years from my hubby. He gave me the chain bracelet and the cupcake with gems when our first daughter was born 15 years ago, and the last one, the crab, for my 50th bday 5 (almost 6) years ago. The other charms marked many occasions in between. Tiffany doesn't make charms like this anymore, sadly! The new ones are more flat and modern. There are a few of the old style I wish I had been able to collect, like the Eiffel Tower and apple.