My grandmother, my mother, and I all have silver charm bracelets, popular in our respective teen years. Each charm would have meaning to the wearer, a little piece of sentimental value to carry on the wrist.

Clockwise from top:

• The heart is obviously a Valentine (but from whom we don’t know!)
• The little “scoop” looks like a colander/sieve so maybe has something to do with baking or cooking?
• The round charm dated “6-15-1971” is the date of my grandparent’s 25th wedding anniversary, often commemorated with silver. The obverse bears the initials “EF”
• No body in the family knows the meaning of the Aspen leaf, as Grandmother never went to Aspen, Colorado. Perhaps there is some significance to her of the Aspen tree or her sister went to Aspen once and brought back the leaf for a souvenir? Anybody’s guess!
• The roller-skate is a reference to her college days, when Grandmother and her “gang” from art school would go to the roller-rink on Friday nights. As a child, my mother in the 60s and then I in the 80s inherited her white skates in turn until they no longer fit and finally went in a garage/boot sale.
• Two pairs of tiny scissors that actually open and close… a reference to sewing?
• The round charm with the scalloped edge bears her married initials, “E F” in a lovely cursive font.

I’m sure there were many more charms but by now, the others have been lost to time.

Lee Franclemont’s charm bracelet, which charms from 1940s and beyond. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.