I now have the charm bracelet that I loved as a child and I love a story that comes with a piece it makes it all that more personal.
So I set about finding out when the charms where hallmarked and any other relevant information, I took out a hallmarking book from the library hoping for the answers but to no avail. Three of the charms seem to be designed by the same jeweller with his initials of WHC and the assay office was Chester which no longer exists. All the charms are 9ct gold this was identifiable by seeing 9 375, the padlock which enabled my nanny to put the bracelet on has worn over time with some of the hallmarking hard to distinguish even under a magnifer. The chain I was told by a jeweller was an old pocket watch chain from the 1920’s, he showed me one he had in the shop to compare and the tell tell signs are that each link is stamped with 9 375 and the type of link was the same.
I spoke to my nanny yesterday to find out more information and what she can remember. It was great to know that the chain was a pocket watch chain and it belonged to my great grandfather, my nanny and grandad bought the first charm which was the wagon from an antique shop in Plymouth, she mentioned that the wagon had a door which I promptly found and inside was a little lady (gypsy) at a table. The purple heart she continued to say was originally a pendant which she found at a church fair, the seller obviously didn’t know what he/she was selling as my nanny knew it was 9ct, the heart is belived to be an amethyst which was a stone that had no value back then and it is surrounded by freshwater pearls. All the charms were bought because she liked them not because each one meant something specific such as a 21 key charm.
I am going to get it all cleaned up and back to it’s former glory and continue to find out the hallmarking but it is believed to be at least 50 years old. I will never sell this piece and I haven’t been doing the research purely for a valuation it for the love and memories.
