Gold Amulet

Amulet jewelry has been spellbinding us for millennia. Today, new, antique and vintage gold amulet jewelry, amulet necklaces, pendants and other amulet accessories are favorites of jewelry lovers all over the world.

The oldest form of jewelry is said to be the amulet, and necklaces, which have a long and dazzling history, were so treasured that they were buried with their owners. Our earliest ancestors ascribed meaning — and magic — to “amulets” made of feathers, bones, stones and even tree bark. They wore amulet necklaces or carried these amulets for protection or to enhance their strength, courage or sexual attraction. Over time, these were replaced with symbolic objects: small replicas of animals, plants and, later, gods.

For the Egyptians, there was no more potent protection than the image of the scarab, otherwise known as the dung beetle. They believed it was a male-only species that reproduced itself by depositing its seed in dung, which its babies then fed upon.

By turning waste to life, the scarab symbolized the god Khepri of the rising sun — “he who has come into being from nothing” — and hence both transformation and resurrection. So wondrous were the powers of the scarab that it became a popular amulet throughout the ancient Mediterranean (for example, this could be seen in signet rings from Greece crafted circa 500 B.C.).

And the dung beetle continues to fascinate designers as a symbol even into our present day, with none other than John Galliano creating an Egyptian Revival necklace for Christian Dior’s Spring/Summer 2004 collection (the audacious British designer worked with Dior from 1997 until 2011). In the center of his piece is an orange Lucite scarab.

Like primeval man, the jeweler Temple St. Clair believes that any adornment can be a power object, so long that it has special meaning to us. She should know. St. Clair began her storied design career — she’s the first contemporary woman jeweler to have her work included in the jewelry collection of the Louvre — by conceiving modern-day Renaissance-inspired amulets. (And just as women rarely took to wearing a single necklace during the Renaissance, men of the era layered chains and valuable pendants atop their bejeweled clothing.)

Find antique and vintage gold amulet necklaces and other gold amulet jewelry on 1stDibs.

Gold is the feel-good metal, the serotonin of jewelry. Wear vintage and antique gold necklaces, watches, gold bracelets or gold rings and you feel happy, you feel dressed, you feel, well, yourself. 

Gold, especially yellow gold, with its rich patina and ancient pedigree going back thousands of years, is the steady standby, the well-mannered metal of choice. Any discussion of this lustrous metal comes down to a basic truth: Gold is elementary, my dear. Gold jewelry that couples the mystique of the metal with superb design and craftsmanship achieves the status of an enduring classic. Many luxury houses have given us some of our most treasured and lasting examples of gold jewelry over the years.

Since its founding, in 1837, Tiffany Co. has built its reputation on its company jewelry as well as its coterie of boutique designers, which has included Jean Schlumberger, Donald Claflin, Angela Cummings and Elsa Peretti. There are numerous gold Tiffany classics worth citing. Some are accented with gemstones, but all stand out for their design and the workmanship displayed.

For the woman who prefers a minimalist look, the Tiffany Co. twist bangle (thin, slightly ovoid) is stylishly simple. For Cummings devotees, signature pieces feature hard stone inlay, such as her pairs of gold ear clips inlaid with black jade (a play on the classic Chanel black and tan), or bangles whose design recalls ocean waves, with undulating lines of lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. And just about any design by the great Jean Schlumberger is by definition a classic.

Even had he eschewed stones and diamonds, Southern-born David Webb would be hailed for the vast arsenal of heavy gold jewelry he designed. Gold, usually hammered or textured in some manner, defines great David Webb jewelry. The self-taught jeweler made very au courant pieces while drawing inspiration from ancient and out-of-the-way sources — East meets West in the commanding gold necklaces made by Webb in the early 1970s. The same could be said for his endlessly varied gold cuffs.

In Europe, many houses have given us gold jewelry that sets the highest standard for excellence, pieces that were highly sought after when they were made and continue to be so. 

Numerous designs from Cartier are homages to gold. There are the classic Trinity rings, necklaces and bracelets — trifectas of yellow, white and rose gold. As a testament to the power of love, consider the endurance of the Cartier Love bracelet.

Aldo Cipullo, Cartier’s top in-house designer from the late 1960s into the early ’70s, made history in 1969 with the Love bracelet. Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle. 

BVLGARI and its coin jewelry, gemme nummarie, hit the jackpot when the line launched in the 1960s. The line has been perennially popular. BVLGARI coin jewelry features ancient Greek and Roman coins embedded in striking gold mounts, usually hung on thick link necklaces of varying lengths. In the 1970s, BVLGARI introduced the Tubogas line, most often made in yellow gold. The Tubogas watches are classics, and then there is the Serpenti, the house's outstanding snake-themed watches and bracelets.

A collection called Monete that incorporated the gold coins is one of several iconic BVLGARI lines that debuted in the 1970s and ’80s, catering to a new generation of empowered women. Just as designers like Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were popularizing fuss-free ready-to-wear fashion for women on the go, BVLGARI offered jewels to be lived in. 

Since Van Cleef Arpels opened its Place Vendôme doors in 1906, collection after collection of jewelry classics have enchanted the public. As predominantly expressed in a honeycomb of gold, there is the Ludo watch and accessories, circa the 1920s, and the golden Zip necklace, 1951, whose ingenious transformation of the traditional zipper was originally proposed by the Duchess of Windsor. Van Cleef's Alhambra, with its Moroccan motif, was introduced in 1968 and from the start its popularity pivoted on royalty and celebrity status. It remains one of VCA’s most popular and collected styles.

Mention must be made of Buccellati, whose name is synonymous with gold so finely spun that it suggests tapestry. The house’s many gold bracelets, typically embellished with a few or many diamonds, signified taste and distinction and are always in favor on the secondary market. Other important mid-20th-century houses known for their gold-themed jewelry include Hermès and Ilias Lalaounis.

Find a stunning collection of vintage and antique gold jewelry on 1stDibs.