European Gold Charm Bracelet, ca. 1955
Watch
GUEST:
This bracelet was initially bought by my great-grandmother somewhere in the early 1900s. I believe it to be Italian in origin and that's about all I know about it.
APPRAISER:
This is probably one of the best charm bracelets I have ever encountered in my career, quite honestly.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Part of the reason is, is that these are wonderful three-dimensional charms. Now, in particular there's two really super-fine charms here. So the first one is this one here, and the other is the one on the other side here. And first off, the reason these are so nice, when I looked at the bottom, these pieces are both signed "G. Nardi." Nardi is a very important goldsmith in Venice. It's a family that started in the early 1900s. They still continue on today and they're well known for being extraordinarily fine craftsmen, and they do wonderful work. These are quite nice because these are locations in Venice. When you open this one up, there's this wonderful little diorama of the Grand Canal in Venice done in gold. This one over here, this is the central doorway of St. Mark's in the main plaza. And it's set with sapphires. And inside there's this wonderful little pillar of the Lion of St. Mark from Venice. And then the back of the piece also is very beautifully engraved. This particular charm of this statue, this is actually from Lisbon, and once again, an extraordinary example of the jeweler's craftsmanship. The last one over here, this is from Spain. The detail on this is just stunning. You couldn't acquire these charms today. I don't think anybody's making charms of this quality. In addition to it, it's a handmade link bracelet. I wouldn't be surprised if the bracelet was also Nardi, although it's not signed.
GUEST:
Is it 18-karat gold?
APPRAISER:
Yes, it's all 18 karat gold. This was probably done in the 1950s. Each of these charms by Nardi, if you had to go into the marketplace, if you could find them today, these would typically be anywhere between $2,000 and $3,000 a charm. These two charms down here in the $1,500 to $2,000 range, and then you've got the bracelet as well. So the insurance value would be between $8,000 to $10,000.
GUEST:
Holy kamoly, wow.
APPRAISER:
There aren't that many charms that I'd go crazy for and that I get excited for, but these two especially, the Nardi charms, they are really the finest charms I've ever seen.
GUEST:
Fantastic.
Appraisal Details
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