Surprisingly everyone I’ve ever met while wearing my charm necklaces
has said a variation of ‘Oh I have an old bracelet from my _____(fill in
mom, grandmother, aunt, godmother etc) in my drawer – even men seem to
have the little darlings hanging around somewhere – left over from a
relative or friend or meant for a child who didn’t want it.
Estate sales, yard sales, tag sales jumble sales, rummage sales, –
whatever you call them- when someone has a good old fashioned clear out
chances are there will be a vintage charm bracelet somewhere in there.
Check the pockets of old purses, go through the piles of costume jewelry,
you never know what treasures lurk behind the faded scarves and worn
gloves.
Almost every antique store has several on a shelf – and if not just
ask, I got my very best one when the owner said ‘yes I’ve had it in the
back for years- glad to get rid of it.’ $175.00 for a 14K gold one with
17 moving charms. I had macaroni for a week till I sold the jeweled tree
and made the money back- but what a thrill!
When my friends started asking me to sell for them on ebay many of the
first things they got rid of were charm bracelets- ‘This old thing- I
never wear it- it catches on everything’. Now I’m sorry I never took
commissions- I could have kept some of those prizes. Ah hindsight is
20/20. A charm gift from a friend is doubly wonderful, both for the
vintage charm and for the glow you feel whenever you look at it and remember
the giver. It says they know the real you, they understand what makes
you tick- and they love for it (or in spite of it). It is a tangible
recognition that you are valued.
The very best source for vintage charms, antique charms, in fact pretty
much everything, is of course eBay.
If it’s rare, wonderful exotic or odd, put in a search and it’ll show
up. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but soon – and what you’ll find and
learn while searching is half the fun. Everything under the sun, from
old school rings to a discontinued perfume that you loved can be found,
and the range of vintage charms available is enormous.
There are other web sites for vintage charms, on-line antique malls
like Ruby Lane, and links through yahoo, google, AOL, etc will get you
plenty of leads for new charms to vintage charms and everything in
between. There are stores that will put your picture on a charm, and a
brilliant woman who customizes charm bracelets.
In fact soon I will add a link from here to my ebay auctions and have a
way for you to order personalized charm bracelets and vintage charms
here on this site as well.
You’ll notice we also have a running list of completed vintage charms
auctions from eBay so you can get an idea of what’s out there and how
much it’s selling for.
Any ideas you have on how to make this site better serve you are more
than welcome- ENJOY!
my mother started one for me when i was ten. by the timei was 20, i had forgotten it ever existed. just shy of my 45th birthday, my beloved sister, a charm-a-holic (where is the 12 step program for this, by the way?) resurrected it,added some adorable and very relevent charms and gave it to me. i adore it, and have added some more of my own. it ALWAYS gets remarks, and makes a great sound when i wear it.
don’t encourage a 12 step program for this- we’d only have to get a charm for it! then maybe a charm for each of the 12 steps- then one for days ‘sober’ and…….