Antique Exceptional Textured and Ribbed Bangle

I have to admit something slightly sacrilegious for someone who spends their life banging on about antique jewellery: nine times out of ten, I actually prefer a vintage bangle to an antique one.

Antique bangles can be beautiful, obviously, but sometimes they are just a little too fussy for me, or the construction doesn’t quite hit that clean, satisfying sweet spot I want on the wrist.

This one is a MASSIVE exception.

As far as I’m concerned, this is basically the ideal antique bangle.

The overall shape is just delicious: a beautifully rounded oval, almost like a smooth pebble, which already makes it feel incredibly good in the hand and on the wrist. Then you have this gorgeous fine ribbing running around the body of the bangle, punctuated by these little polished stations that wrap over the top and give the whole thing rhythm and structure without making it remotely busy.

And the colour is ridiculous.

That rich burnt-butter rose-yellow gold that antique gold does so beautifully. Warm, deep, slightly rosy, completely glowing. It sings.

What really gets me, though, is the construction. There is nothing ooky, fragile or tired about this whatsoever. It was beautifully made in the first place, and more than a century later it is still in fantastic condition. It feels exceptional to hold. The hinge is smooth, the bangle opens easily and then snaps shut with that incredibly satisfying little click, and even the safety chain feels substantial and properly made rather than like an afterthought.

It is elegant, solid, wearable and genuinely luxurious.

If you are looking for an amazing piece of infrastructure for your wrist, I really don’t think you could do much better than this. This is a perfect fit on a 6.5" wrist and a close fit on my 7" wrist.