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Bracelets have been worn throughout the ages to draw attention to the beauty of the wrist and hands. Women throughout history have worn decorative bracelets from Cleopatra to Marilyn Monroe to Michelle Obama. The history of the bracelet dates back to the Ancient Egyptians in 5000 B.C, although a bracelet found by archaeologists in Turkey in 1995 was dated to about 7500BC!. Researchers were astounded at the detail and craftmanship found in the 9500 year old bracelet.
The word bracelet comes from the Greek “brachile” which means “of the arm.” Bracelets have been made from a wide variety of materials over the years, such as leather, cloth, plastic, and metal amongst others. They are typically adorned with jewels, rocks, shells, metal, crystals or pearls, to name just a few. Bracelets come in many different styles. Our guide below covers all you need to know about the different types of vintage and antique bracelets.
A cuff bracelet is usually a rigid wide bracelet that does not close together but just rests on the wrist with a gap on the inner side of the wrist. Cuff bracelets are generally worn low down on the wrist rather than further up the arm. In the early 19th century Zuni and Navajo silversmiths made cuffs for tourists who were travelling westwards from Chicago to Los Angeles on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. with the train making several stops in the South West USA. The cuffs were dominated by large pieces of turquoise while others incorporated small stones as highlights or in grid formation. The William Spratling company in Taxco, Mexico, were silversmiths who also designed cuffs. Early cuffs from the 1930s and ’1940s were often set with amethysts while later vintage cuffs from Taxco made in the 1950s and ’60s included common stones such as obsidian and quartz. Postwar modernist jewellers from New York such as Frank Rebajes and Paul Lobel favoured cuff bracelets because they offered good wide surface areas for their designs. The same motivation probably applied to Scandinavian jewellery designers from Jacob Hull to Georg Jensen . Cuff bracelets were also in fashion with contemporary Americans designers like David Yurman and acclaimed jewelers such as Tiffany and Van Cleef and Arpels, whose gold cuffs were worn by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Victorian sterling silver Georg Jensen Harald Nielsen Vintage Mexico Taxco silver cuff bracelet sterling silver cuff bracelet cuff bracelet
Victorian silver charm bracelet 9 carat gold arts and crafts 9 carat gold vintage charm bracelet charm bracelet
Gate bracelets became popular during the Victorian era, although their exact origins are hard to establish. The term ‘gate’ bracelet refers to the unusual chain style of interlocking barred panels. These panels are said to resemble the gates and fences of English castles and country estates . The style of chain of the gate bracelet is similar to both belcher link and fetter link chains. The main distinguishing feature of a gate bracelet is the large sized heart shaped charm. The charm has a lock and key which is the closure of the bracelet. It is a perfect representation of Victorian ideas about chastity and romanticism. They were usually made out of 9, 10, or 14 carat gold. Silver was not particularly fashionable during the Victorian Era and platinum had not yet been created.
Victorian turquoise and seed 9 carat rose gold gate bracelet Sapphire and seed pearl gate bracelet pearl gate bracelet
Rare Ciner crystal panther bracelet 1940's laurel wreath clamper 1950's crystal costume jewellery bracelet clamper bracelet
Ciner faux ruby and pearl torsade Tiffany and Co sterling silver ball Rhinestone and bead torsade bracelet bracelet and chain torsade bracelet
The chain link bracelet is exactly as it sounds. A bracelet made from chain. The chains can be a multitude of different metal chain types and they can be chunky and strong or thin and delicate. Napier vintage chain link bracelet Yellow gold wide chain link Hermes silver chain link bracelet bracelet
