Rare 19th Century Aluminum Bangle

A rare Victorian era Aluminium bangle bracelet. Circa 1850-1880. Aluminum, discovered in the nineteenth century, was first used in jewelry in the 1850s. There was a  brief period of time when Aluminum was considered more valuable than gold. Prior to commercial electricity in the early 1880s, aluminum was exceedingly difficult to extract.  Bars of aluminium were exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1855 and Aluminium jewelry at the Paris Exhibition of 1867.  Napoleon III is said to have given a banquet where the most honoured guests were given aluminium utensils, while the others made do with gold.

There is a strikingly similar bracelet at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. See it HERE. 

Gilded Metal and Aluminum. Push button clasp. measurements: diameter: 2.5" closed, Width: .6"