A ‘charmed’ life

Manhattan-based Charmco.com is a great resource for 14-karat gold travel charms that let you “wear your wanderlust,” WAG travel and beauty writer Debbi K. Kickham says.

I don’t know about you, but every year it gets harder and harder for my husband Bill to buy me presents. I already have just about everything and in my work as a Gorgeous Globetrotter, I always find amazing discoveries for myself when I’m shopping. Yet I just came upon a company in New York that may be the answer to everyone’s gifting.

It’s Charmco — a fabulous online 14-karat gold charm company whose best sellers are travel charms and bracelets. They’re the go-to brand for all-things-“charm’ing.

So I’m telling my husband, Bill, — for all future reference — to go online to see all the Lilliputian lovelies such as the mini Eiffel Tower, New York taxicab or the moveable charm of a cruise ship. These would be a welcome addition to my wrist.

Charmco has a full-scale, full-service showroom on 47th Street in Manhattan’s Diamond District and sees clients by appointment only. Everything is done on-site, as the jewelers and engravers “are all in one place,” says co-owner Lisa Feldkamp. She and her mom, Leslie Slutsky, started the company after Leslie gave a charm bracelet to her daughter, and “Everyone commented on it…and we got impassioned about it.”

Indeed, Leslie says, “We have a lot of customers in Westchester and in the tristate area, as well as all over the world. We focus on the U.S.A. and Canada.”

One special characteristic that sets Charmco apart is that the company offers a wealth of vintage charms from different eras, which they sourced at antique shops and trade shows. No matter what you’re looking for, there’s sure to be a charm for you.

“Travel charms are our best sellers,” says Lisa, citing the Eiffel Tower, Roman Coliseum, Stonehenge and Big Ben, as well as the Empire State Building and diminutive suitcases that can be engraved with your monogram. Some of my favorites include the $375 tiny tropical drink, the $245 conch shell with pink enamel and the $195 U.S. Passport. But besides Travel, Charmco offers charms in the areas of beauty, hobbies, professions, love, pets, beach and nautical themes and even colleges.

What’s the big trend for this year? Aside from charm bracelets, “Necklaces with 20 or more charms on them “are a big driver this year,” Lisa says. “Just throw it on with a button-down shirt and you can look chic.”

Or echo Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who sports a charm necklace with the first initials of her three children — George, Charlotte and Louis.

Along with that, the best-selling gold bracelet on which to attach your charms is the Sophia in solid gold that sells for $525.

No matter what you choose, you’ll have a bespoke bracelet that lets you wear your wanderlust.

For more, visit charmco.com/. And for more on Debbi, visit debbikickham.com.

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