Description
How unusual to come across a silver charms necklace! Usually we see this design as bracelets, however, here we have a very mid-century sculptural links (almost modernistic) necklace with 18 separate silver charms. The earliest ones dates from c1950s and are “800 silver” appropriate to their age. Others are sterling. Asides from this being rather a rarity, as it is a necklace-there are some more unusual charms, including a silver charm from Florence, Italy fully signed by the maker which portrays Perseus, the Greek god. This representation is directly taken from the impressive statue in the Loggia in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria. As a number of the charms are Italian, I am assuming it was either an Italian person who owned it, or else someone who travelled a lot in Italy on holiday. There is another wonderful Greek mythical character, who looks like a Merman and he is presumably one of their water deities.
A very heavy necklace with a lot of silver content but also such a striking piece, which really references vintage charm bracelets in such a unique way. Here is a list of the 18 charms:
Realistic hare licking his paw, stamped STERLING / cartoonesque hare-tests as silver / cuckoo clock-tests as silver / locomotive engine with stylised smoke coming from tunnel stamped SILVER / an antique car with a man in top hat-tests as silver / large mythical Greek water God with mermaid tail 800-silver, Italian? / an egg, which opens to reveal a chick -tests as silver / statue of Perseus stamped by the maker Pieri & Clemintini, Florence, an antique telephone-tests as silver / heavy urn decorated with flowers-tests as silver / cartoonesque sitting cat -vague silver marks / antique gramophone base opens up to reveal a mouse, stamped SILVER / stylised poodle with a stiletto in its mouth-stamped STERLING / a boot house, the sole opens up to reveal an old lady and 7 children-tests as silver / realistically modelled African elephant-remnants of stamp on ring / grandfather clock, door opens up to reveal pendulum stamped “SILVER” / stylised hedgehog tests as silver / antique open-top car with poss Italian hallmark stamps.
The necklace is approx 78cm (30.5 inches) in length and weighs approx 127.9g. It is a substantial thing and you may decide to wear as is, otherwise remove the charms. These are actually very collectable nowadays individually, as nostalgia has seen a resurgence in the popularity of collecting charms. I shall send carefully packed in a box by complimentary tracked and signed post. The boxes in the images are not included-thank you.
