Australian Pearl Ghost Pendant

While black diamonds may have entered our public lexicon when Mr. Big presented Carrie Bradshaw with a black diamond engagement ring in Sex and the City 2 (“because you’re not like anyone else,” he told her), jewelry aficionados have known about this fancy colored gemstone — as well as the appeal of vintage black diamond necklaces, black diamond bracelets and other black diamond jewelry — for centuries.

Black diamonds seem especially appropriate around Halloween, that most spooky day of the year, but there’s really never a time when the gem isn’t fashionable. In fact, some women prefer black diamond jewelry accessories set with other diamonds. 

Usually a black diamond is faceted and either used as an accent or, if it is a solitaire, then it has been treated by a combination of high heat and low pressure to bring out its opaque black color. While they may look exotic, black diamonds are less expensive than white diamonds and are not held to the same standards — in other words, the 4Cs diamond grading system will not apply.

Black diamonds fall into the “fancy diamond” or more specifically, “fancy black” category. These gemstones are appreciated for their unusual color and appearance instead. In their natural state, they resemble something that fell out of the sky, or emerged from the Earth’s core. Carbonados are most often found either in Brazil or in Central Africa.

A black diamond known as the Korloff Noir, originally 421 carats before it was cut and polished down to 88 carats, was shown in recent years at the international diamond shows and is being praised as the largest black diamond on the market today.

Find a range of antique, new and vintage black diamond jewelry on 1stDibs.

Vintage charm bracelets are a no-brainer when it comes to accessorizing. Modern charm bracelets feature a variety of charms and are made from a range of materials. And just as they did thousands of years ago, each charm on a charm bracelet today holds unique significance for the wearer and tells a piece of their story.

The charm bracelet, as a distinctive and personal finishing touch, has been around for a long time.

An iconic fashion statement, the charm bracelet has changed considerably throughout human history, but it has always been imbued with deep personal meaning. Jewelry in general has held intimate significance for us for thousands of years. Nearly every Egyptian, rich or poor, took jewelry seriously and was buried with some kind of jewels, and, later, jewelry of the Hellenistic era was passed down between generations as family heirlooms.

As children, we played with the antique and vintage bracelets that populated the jewelry boxes in our family homes, hearing them jingle and jangle while we learned the story of each charm. If we were lucky, some of our favorite charm bracelets were passed down to us as keepsakes.

Charm bracelets quickly became an extremely popular piece of jewelry in the 19th century. The Victorian penchant for symbolic jewelry lent itself perfectly to charm bracelets. Queen Victoria popularized charm bracelets among European nobility, as she was incredibly enthusiastic about giving them as gifts. Their popularity continued through her reign and into the 1900s. Tiffany & Co. introduced its iconic charm bracelet in 1889, and, since then, our love for this accessory has only broadened.

On 1stDibs, the collection of vintage charm bracelets for sale includes Cartier charm bracelets, Tiffany charm bracelets and more.