About Vintage Charms for Milestones and Memories
A charm for the moment: an initial, a number, a locket for a photograph, a French love token. Charms were made to mark moments: a letter for a name, a number for a year or an age, a locket for one photograph, a heart that says what it means, a French token with a line of love on it. The charms here are vintage 14k and 18k gold, each one of a kind and no longer made; they were somebody’s moment first, which is what makes them the right piece for yours. Choose by the moment: a birth or a new mother, an anniversary, a trip or a move to a new city, someone to remember. MCJ2 Vintage specializes in vintage and estate 14k and 18k gold jewelry.
Questions
What is a meaningful charm to mark becoming a mother?
The pieces made for it: a locket that holds the first photograph, an initial or name charm for the child, a vintage children’s shoe charm, or the child’s zodiac sign. A locket was made to carry a small portrait close to the wearer, which is exactly the job.
What charm celebrates ten years of marriage that is not a ring?
A number charm for the years, a French love token, or a heart. The French "Qu’hier que demain" medal reads "plus qu’hier, moins que demain": more than yesterday, less than tomorrow, a line from Rosemonde Gérard’s 1889 poem that A. Augis of Lyon put on gold medals given between lovers. "Toi toujours" means "you, always". A vintage one is one of a kind.
What does "toi toujours" mean on a French charm?
"You, always." It is a French love token, worn on a chain or a bracelet, usually a heart in 18k gold with enamel or stones; French charms of this kind are most often 18k, the standard for French gold jewelry.
How do I find an initial charm that matches my grandmother’s?
Look for the letter in the same style of her charm: script, block or a raised letter on a disc. Vintage initial charms were made in small runs, so the same letter in the same style turns up again. The initials here are vintage 14k and 18k gold; MCJ2 Vintage can also look for a specific letter and style for you.
What does wearing a vintage initial charm mean?
A name, worn where people can see it. Initial jewelry has been a way to claim or honor a name since Tudor England, where Anne Boleyn was painted wearing her "B" necklace, and by the Victorian era monogramming had reached everyday jewelry. A vintage initial charm carries that history plus the particular person it was made for.
Can a vintage gold number charm mark a year or a milestone?
Yes. Number charms were made for ages, anniversaries and years: a 10 for a decade, a 25 for a silver anniversary, a number for a birthday. A number charm beside an initial reads as a date.
What is a good charm to remember a grandmother by?
A locket with her photograph, the initial she wore, or the motif she wore: for many families an Italian horn or a Madonna was the grandmother’s charm. Lockets began as hidden portrait cases in the 1520s and later held a lock of hair, so the locket is the piece made for keeping one person close.
Which charm marks a big trip or a move to a new city?
A charm of the place: the Eiffel Tower for Paris, the interlocking NY for New York, a Nefertiti from Egypt. Travel charms were the original souvenir, brought home and added to the bracelet, which is why so many vintage ones exist.
Have a question about a piece? Ask MCJ2 Vintage