New Arrivals For Retro Bracelets

The reign of Queen Victoria encapsulates a quickly evolving period of history — and jewelry styles were no exception. No single period has seen such a diverse group of jewelry attributed to it than the Victorian era. Today, there is a vast collection of authentic antique Victorian jewelry and watches on 1stDibs.

Victorian jewelry is named after Queen Victoria, whose reign lasted from 1837 to 1901, making her the second longest-ruling monarch. (She was surpassed by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015.) During this time, different styles of fashion and jewelry came and went. Thanks to our fascination with royalty and swoon-worthy melodramas like Netflix’s The Crown — which is rife with evocative fashion, jewelry and interiors — and the 2017 feature film Victoria & Abdul, we are all familiar with her story. After the death of Victoria’s father and three childless uncles, she ascended to the throne at age 18. In 1840, Queen Victoria married the love of her life, her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Queen Victoria loved serpentine jewels, and she had even more power to shape trends than Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle do today. The British monarch’s best-known piece in this mold is the gold coiled-snake engagement ring she received from Prince Albert — the sinuous reptile was considered a symbol of everlasting love.

The Queen's 63-year reign has been divided by historians into the Romantic period, the early happy years, circa 1837–60; the Grand period, marked by the deaths of the Queen’s mother and husband, circa 1860–80; and the late Victorian or Aesthetic period, which lasted from about 1880 until 1901 and ushered in the Belle Époque. Queen Victoria wore her heart on her sleeve, and her fashion and jewelry reflected her emotions.

Romantic period jewelry, which featured common decorative motifs and was embellished with seed pearls, coral and turquoise, was a celebration of the young monarch’s love. Everything changed with the death of Prince Albert, and the Grand period is most often associated with mourning jewelry. Jewelry was smaller, lighter and more dainty during the late Victorian period. During this era, diamonds came into fashion, and semiprecious gems such as amethysts and opals became prevalent, too. Using gemstones for their natural beauty and not their worth was something that jewelers of the era felt passionate about, and this ideology would really become relevant in Art Nouveau jewelry.

Find a collection of authentic antique Victorian jewelry — from rings, necklaces and brooches to a range of other accessories — on 1stDibs. 

Vintage charm bracelets are a no-brainer when it comes to accessorizing. 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.

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.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of charm bracelets designed by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, David Webb, Paul Flato and more.