Antique/Vintage-Gold Fill-Monogram-Locket-Expansion-Sweetheart-Mourning Bracelet
Welcome to our newest store "Dallas Valley Discoveries". For more collectibles, please also visit our larger store "Mena Country Sales", both specializing in vintage and antique collectibles. This listing is for a beautiful, antique, gold filled, sweetheart, expansion, locket bracelet. It is from my personal collection of antique, gold filled jewelry. I hate to let this one go, but life necessitates I downsize. It was made during an era when branding jewelry wasn't the norm. I can't find a marking for gold filled, but you can tell it's gold filled based on the wear patterns. Gold filled jewelry has an outer shell made of gold with base metal beneath it. Basically, its gold filled with a different form of metal. It differs from gold plating in that the gold outer shell has thickness to it, so much so, that when it wears down to expose base metal, you can see the edges of the shell. This wear is generally found along corners and edges and raised. Gold filled jewelry also holds up well over the years, and even when there is wear to the shell along the corners, the jewelry is still beautiful and wearable.
This bracelet is special in that it has a locket at its center, but it's not your normal locket. This locket has a bit of depth to it, so the wearer has options as to its use. While it can be used to hold photos, it also could hold a lock of hair or some other memento.
This type of jewelry was often used as mourning jewelry to hold some sort of keepsake from one's lost loved one. It could even be used to hold medication, I suppose.Sweetheart bracelets were popular in the early part of the 1900s, but also predated this. It's very likely this bracelet is Victorian in age and from as early as the 1890s. The expansion bracelet is still in good working order with all parts attached. The bracelet does need a careful cleaning by someone who knows how to clean antique jewelry as there is black residue around hinges and moving parts. The main condition issue with this bracelet is that the locket won't stay shut.
The little piece that clicks shut has worn down over the years, so that will need repair, but it should be fairly minor. While the gold outer shell shows some wear, it is still largely intact, in good condition and rich in color. There is wear to the raised portions of the caps on the band. The lovely lock is monogramed on both the front and back with the letters CJ or EJ.
There is a V marking on the inside of the topside of the locket and the number 50 is scratched into the inside of the bottom portion of the locket. I don't know what these mean. The top of the locket, in the center appears more rose gold in color. This monogrammed center is surrounded by Victorian style, embossed motifs. It's absolutely stunning to look at. This bracelet is near or over 100 years old, so it does need some attention in terms of cleaning and minor repair, and its appearance does show that it has a little history to it, but it's a wonderful, heirloom piece of jewelry to own and pass down or add to your collection. The pictures are to be considered as part of the description so please use the zoom feature and review them for a better idea of details and condition. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. I will stand behind my listings.