Wearing jewelry crafted from vintage typewriters, particularly the glass coated keys, is a fast growing fashion trend. From necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings and cuff-links, these charming artistic creations are nostalgic, fashionable and make quite a conversation piece!
The keys from these old typing machines are usually quite old, ranging from the early 1900’s to the 1940’s. This date range seems to be the sweet spot for beautiful looking keys, in particular the glass coated keys. From the 50’s on up, the glass keys were rapidly being replaced with plastic.
The older glass keys generally have a nice thick band of chrome around them and come in two main colors. Black on white and white on black. Often the function keys would be colored, like white on red, black on yellow or black on green. There are many combination’s. These function keys are often larger or shaped different than the other keys and makes for some interesting jewelry!
Most people seek out their first or last name initial for the pendants and rings. Cufflinks are often made with both, or 2 of the same letter. Bracelets can have small sayings or favorite word on them or even a spelled out name. Of course, this depends on where you buy them. Many sellers offer customization on typewriter key jewelry.
The best place to find this beautiful jewelry is online. Many craft & jewelry makers have their own websites and you can buy directly from them. Other places such as eBay and Amazon offer an incredible selection and very competitive prices.
While all of this jewelry is nice, it’s the older antique and vintage keys that you’ll likely be most pleased with and you should keep that in mind when shopping. Brands such as Royal, Remington, Smith-Corona, Underwood, Adler and many others all had glass coated keys on their typewriters, every one with slightly different font and design, making any piece of vintage glass typewriter key jewelry a winner no matter what manufacturer your keys come from!