One of my all-time favorite collectibles in the vintage costume jewelry category is the charm bracelet. Vintage charm bracelets are always amusing and great fun to wear and share. They also make unique, reasonably-priced gifts to celebrate important events like graduation, birthdays (Astrology Zodiac Signs) marriage,special trips,or even a consuming passion. I believe vintage charm bracelets are more stylish and charming than newer versions, and usually priced for much less. When you wear a vintage charm bracelet, not only are you stepping back in time, you are doing a good energy deed: recycling.
A Buyer’s Market
Right now, on popular internet auction sites, you can pick up a sterling silver charm bracelet in the $15-$20 price range (try finding something comparable in a boutique or department store). Several years ago, I sold vintage silver charm bracelets, at auction, in the $50-$60 range. Pretty much like other vintage collectibles, this is truly a buyer’s market now, as you can pick up a sterling silver charm bracelet for around $20. Great sterling silver charm bracelets and fine 14k and 18K gold charm bracelets (some with gemstone-encrusted charms) can easily be found for sale at auction. The gorgeous gold bracelets vary in starting or ask price, depending on gold content and gems on charms. For high content gold and numerous charms, we are talking 5 figure prices. On the other end, you can find plastic and metal charm bracelets (I recently saw an adorable metal charm bracelet with iconic charms offered at $2 beginning bid, with no takers), and plastic in the $5 to $40 range. Because desirable vintage charm bracelets are relatively inexpensive right now, if you want to re-sell, you might want to buy and hold (like a stock) until the collectibles auction market rebounds. The great thing about a vintage charm bracelet is that, as Rod Stewart sang, "You wear it well." Charm bracelets also make the perfect conversation piece - you will never be at a loss for words if you go solo to a party. So if you’re not buying for immediate re-sale, by all means, put it on, so every one can admire how well you wear it.
Important events & Special passions
Some people scrap book. I charm-bracelet to remember important events and people in my life. I’m not the only person who commemorates this way. You can add charms with your children’s birth dates, a wedding ring, an Eiffel Tower from your trip to France, and so on.There are charms to buy for every conceivable memory (if not, you can have a charm made for you). When I started collecting space and Apollo 11 items ( a compelling passion, at the time), I found 3 charm bracelets with rockets and satellites (shown with this article). When I began to study the energy properties of gemstones, a jeweler handmade a charm bracelet with real stones for me. I’ve seen charm bracelets loaded with horses (for horse lovers) and dogs (for dog lovers) The sky’s the limit with charm bracelets.
I’ve even seen vintage charm bracelets with airplane charms for the pilots among us….
Where the Charms Are…
Sterling silver and gold charms are still widely available at fine department stores and jewelry shops, as well as on internet auction and web sites. Also available - vintage celluloid gum ball machine charms from the 1940s and ’50s (shown below) Charms purchased in brick & mortar stores are generally more expensive than those charms found at auction, but you might be able to order or have engraved specific charm(s) you are seeking if you visit a jeweler. Many times you can find adorable charms without the bracelet . This should pose no problem - you can generally find a vintage charm bracelet (charm-free) at a thrift store or at auction. If you are handy, you can visit a craft store for jewelry fixings to craft your own charm bracelet (as seen here with vintage poker chips). 
The vintage clay poker chip bracelet was hand-crafted; added to a plain vintage bracelet. The celluloid gumball charms shown here are awaiting a bracelet and jewelry fixings.
Charm bracelet history
Charm bracelets are old hat, in the sense they’ve been around since the Victorian Age. Queen Victoria, the fashion plate of her time, wore charms on her bracelets. In the Victoria Age, bracelets were hand-crafted from watch fobs with fob charms. The Queen’s charming jewelry statement set off a wave of copying by member of her court and European nobles that extended to the early 20th Century. Later, soldiers returning from battle in WWI and WWII extended the charm bracelet trend by bringing home small trinkets and charms as souvenirs for their loved ones. The lucky recipients added these trinket charms to string or beaded chain bracelets. But the charm-bracelet craze really got a giant kick-start from the gum ball machine and cracker-jack box charms that many people collected. These charms also were added to strings or beaded metal chains (dog tags). The 1940-50s charms were made of celluloid and were often off-white, but sometimes colored red or blue. Some of these charms had googly eyes.Most celluloid charms were animals (dogs, camels, horses), but sometimes they were cartoon characters. I’ve collected some and found Popeye and many different animals (see photo above).
By the 1950s and 60s, gold and sterling silver charm bracelets were very popular with young girls and stylish women. Charm bracelets, loaded with charms, or meaningful charms, by themselves, were often given as gifts. One of my favorite gifts way back was a bracelet containing a silver four-leaf clover charm with my name engraved on one side. In the Mid-Century, gold charm bracelets were the creme de la creme of jewelry - charms for these often included diamond or other gemstones, cased gold coins, and medals. Expensive then and expensive now, these 14 and 18k bracelets are more heirloom quality than costume jewelry and can be passed down from generation to generation.
Charm bracelets became less popular during the "plastic" boom of the 1980s, but even those bracelets can bring a good price today, especially if they were crafted by a well-known designer like Trifari. It was until recently that charm bracelets became popular again (when celebrities wore them), although for some people, they’ve never gone out of style.
If you are looking for a wonderful gift for someone who is getting married or has just given birth, consider a charm bracelet as a gift that keeps on growing as milestones are reached. Now is a good time to purchase vintage charms and charm bracelets at bargain-basement prices - especially those charms marked sterling (925) or gold, and purchased from a jeweler or site you can trust.
Special thanks to Rod Stewart ("You Wear it Well", 1992) Warman’s Jewelry and various internet and auction sites.
08.01.09
