Rare 19th Century Aluminum Brangle

Rare 19th Century Aluminum Bangle

France or England, circa 1860. 

Bangle bracelet in gilded metal with a ball and chain detail.

Hidden push clasp. The bracelet measures 6.75 inches in length and .75 inches wide. Small in size. 

Time has caused some wear to the gilding and there is an uneven patina on the gold sections of the bracelet. All visible in the photos. 

In the 19th century, aluminum was rarer than gold. Before the discovery of modern refining methods, extracting it was difficult and costly, making it a material of wonder and innovation. Jewelry from this brief era reflects that fascination. 

Aluminum jewelry appeared in Paris around the 1850s and was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1855, where Napoleon III famously commissioned aluminum tableware for state banquets. The material’s rarity and association with modern invention made it fashionable among the avant-garde, particularly in France and Britain. By the end of the century, industrial methods had rendered aluminum common, and the brief moment when it was treated as a precious metal had passed. Its rarity today lies not only in its beauty, but in the fleeting moment when a humble metal was considered precious.