This antique portrait bracelet is another treasure I spotted at the Original Miami Beach Antique Show – it’s just so cool that I thought it needed to have its very own post.
Here’s what this antique portrait bracelet looks like at first glance.
Gorgeous, right? That thick gold base, the careful blue enamel detailing around the diamond-set stars, the chubby old-cut diamonds themselves. There’s nothing here that isn’t lovable.
Beautiful, but portrait-free so far. Don’t worry. I promise I said “antique portrait bracelet” for a reason.
Whaaaaaaaat?!? That’s right. Each of those diamond-set, enamel-lined stars conceals a secret compartment. The central, largest portrait is the husband of the Fanny C Bell, the lucky woman received this mind-boggling treasure on June 13th, 1864 in honor of their 26th wedding anniversary.
The stars to the sides of the center open to reveal a line of four portraits on each side: the entire Bell brood, from oldest to the curly hair and chubby cheeks of the youngest Bell all the way on the right.
Wait. How did I know all of that very specific information?
I’LL TELL YOU HOW (apologies for the caps, I find this antique portrait bracelet very exciting).
The bracelet is engraved on the back with the gift recipient’s name, the date, and the explanation of the occasion:
TO
FANNY C BELL
on their 26th
Wedding Day
from her affectionate
HUSBAND
13th June 1864
Is that not just the coolest thing you’ve ever seen? Gotta love those different fonts in the engraving, too.
Here’s my lingering question: what did this woman get as a gift for her first twenty-five wedding anniversaries that her husband went this big for the 26th? Or maybe he forgot the first 25 and this was his apology?
Either way: Mr. Bell did well.
I spotted this antique portrait bracelet in the John T Haynes’ Miami Beach Antique Show cases – between some golf ball sized opals and a huge, gemstone-set cross that had been a gift from the Pope – and I went RIGHT for this one.
This massive 5-day event draws dealers, buyers, and enthusiasts from all over the world to create one of the most dynamic, treasure-filled antique shows out there – in a location that’s delightful in late January, especially when one has 
Thanks to my antique jewelry fairy godmother, the one and only 
These antique diamond earrings of my dreams are better known around Instagram as the legendary Olsen twins, property of the incandescent 
I was walking the show floor at the Original Miami Beach Antique show (more about that soon) and I saw Jogani’s sign. I headed over, because I’d learned at 
Masterfully articulated swags of diamonds, designed with elegantly architectural swoops and lines as well as elegant floral elements and perfect diamond bows. The diamond cuts are all over the place – from rose cuts to at least one table cut, which suggests that they might have been removed from other jewelry or at least collected from a number of sources to create this wonder.
Jogani thinks that this spectacular piece dates to the 1800’s, although they told me that not enough is known about it yet to have an exact date estimate. The diamond swags of the design certainty feel Edwardian, so perhaps that’s a clue that this beautiful thing came to being in the later end of the 19th century, rather than earlier.