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Another favorite given to build charm bracelets to keep their loved ones near them.
Victoria by the Prince is a “locket” During the Second World War, soldiers began to gather
like bracelet. The bracelet has a remembrances or trinkets to mark their time of service.
case at the end with Prince These were reminders of the men they served with, the
Albert’s picture in it. Queen women they loved, and the places they went. They also kept
Victoria adored the bracelet, she all manner of good luck charms, religious charms, and some-
said. “It is his own exquisite taste times charms that belonged to their fallen brothers. While
and one of the loveliest things I they were away—sometimes for years overseas—they began Lucky black cat brooc
ever saw. How I shall value it, to pick up charms for their loved ones back home. Native a London sold
and what extreme pleasure it craftsmen in the South Pacific quickly picked up on the photo:slate.c
gives. I put it on at once, and it trend and crafted charms from shells, bits of metal, and
was much admired.” wood representing symbols and landmarks from the area.

Left, Queen Victoria by Lady Julia
Abercromby, 1883, wearing the bracelet Designed to Charm
given to Her Majesty with a locket Prior to WWII, jewelry houses throughout Europe and
containing his portrait (below) the world made sure to add the right amount of bling to the
charms. The story of Henry Dankner and Sons demonstrates
the fate of one family of high-end charm designers. Their
work was distributed by such jewelry powerhouses as Cartier,
Van Cleef & Arpels, and Harry Winston.
The family fled Nazi Germany in 1944 after everything
had been seized from their Budapest workshop. Henry and
his two sons moved to New York and were able to restart
their business in 1950. The company continued until 2014
One other charm bracelet was worn by the Queen continually during when they donated all their archival sketches and molds to Marble four-leaf clover
the last forty years of her life, and was also new to the royal jewelry The Fashion Institute of Technology. belonging to an unkno
“line”: mourning jewelry, and in particular, a mourning bracelet. Other high-end jewelry houses made charms for the photo:slate.co
Pictured in the center is the mourning bracelet created after Albert’s masses, as did a number of mid-range makers. There was
passing in 1861. There are sixteen oval and heart-shaped charms a wide range of price points for the collector from
with varying amounts of adornment. This piece is part of a group makers that included Walter Lampl, Thomas L
of jewels and mourning jewelry that were placed in the Mott, Beaucraft, Charles Horner, and J.M. Fischer,
“Albert Room” at Windsor Castle after among others.
the Queen's death in 1901. This was the At the end of World War II, the craze of collecting
room in which Prince Albert had died, charm jewelry really
and the Queen left strict instructions for took off. Charms were
this list of personal jewelry to be placed now being made out of
there and not passed on in the family. the pot metal once

reserved for the Armed
Her Majesty’s Influence Forces, and manufac-
While Queen Victoria is famous A gold charm bracelet with sixteen turing at high levels
for her own charm bracelets, she also various oval and heart shaped lock- meant shapes of all Connemara marble b
made a habit of giving them as gifts, ets, enamelled in black on gold. kinds were being pressed carried by an Irish
Some set with jewels, others
and the idea took off. Charm engraved, several with inscriptions. out as fast as girls could photo:slate.co
bracelets became a hit in the upper One containing a miniature get their hands on them.
classes. Each charm had to be hand- photograph of male head.
crafted rather than mass-produced This bracelet was worn The Mid-Century
– something not done until the latter constantly by Queen Victoria. Charm Craze!
part of the 18th and early 19th cen- photo: Royal Collection Trust
tury with the boom of the Industrial As the world reached for signs of
Revolution. Although some were normalcy, there was an absolute
simple in design, each one represented explosion of interest in the things
something personal to the wearer. Shapes that were not able to be obtained or
included four-leaf clovers, hearts, birds, used—or worn—during the Wars.
and flowers. Charm bracelets gave women a way to mark
One maker in particular made its mark what they learned were truly life’s precious
on the world of charm bracelets: Tiffany & moments; to remember the past and
Co. Tiffany started his company in 1837, the same build a shiny new future.
year of Queen Victoria’s coronation. In 1889, they created a simple As life in the “burbs” took off, the variety of
single heart charm on a delicate chain-link bracelet and introduced it at charms made shifted to a more lifestyle-driven selection.
the Paris Exhibition. This not only brought Tiffany notice but also Charms were made to mark every occasion from hobbies to
cemented the heart as one of its most prominent symbols in their many sports, travel during vacations, and every celebration that
jewelry lines. took place in the home and on the patio or at a party.
Later in the 20th century during the era of the Great Depression, Charms could be changed on a whim to suit the mood of
these smaller reminders of better times reflected the improved the wearer. Rites of passage were marked first with the
techniques established thanks to advancements in jewelry creation bracelet and a special charm for a 16th birthday or engage-
when platinum and diamonds became integrated into charm design. ment or wedding, followed by more charms as events
unfolded. Some bracelets appeared to weigh more than the
wearer as years went by and charms were added. Older
Charms on the Warfront and the Homefront charms from generations past were not worn so much as kept
With the onslaught of the World Wars, soldiers once again took to in a memory box. Often, mothers would pass their bracelets
carrying charms representing home, and those left behind would also on to their daughters as a keepsake.

28 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles