BMCo Vintage Souvenir Enamel Charms
BMCo made a vast assortment of pretty enamel charms that are still found for sale on auction sites like eBay today. The ones I’ve seen are primarily souvenirs from Canada but there are also quite a few Caribbean Island travel charms and some from Bermuda. There are Canadian charms from obscure small towns that you don’t find from any other maker.
BMCo souvenir charms are typically made with brightly colored enamel scenes from the travel destination on the front. The enamel they used is very high quality because almost every charm is still in great condition many years after manufacture. I decided to find out what I could about the BMCo charm maker.
BMCo stands for Breadner Manufacturing Company. It was located in Hull, Quebec. The company began business in 1903. They acquired molds for souvenir spoons from a bankrupt company called Dominion Jewelry Manufacturing company in 1910, and in 1930 changed the company name to Breadner Co. Ltd. BMCo also made trophies, military badges, and souvenir spoons. I’ve seen a few of their spoons for sale on eBay. They seem to have stayed in business until at least the 1970s because there are BMCo charms commemorating the Montreal Olympics. That’s the entire breadth of information I can find on this company but I would love to know more. Anybody have any clues?
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Category: All About Old Jewelry
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Wanda Fitzgerald is a Florida native and an vintage charm collector who loves to share her adventures in an e-commerce jewelry business with anyone who is interested.Subscribe
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So sweet. Could you possibly do a post explaining the difference (if there is one) guilloche and enamel? Thanks, Gretchen
Hi – I have possible info or maybe just some confusion. My mother had a small gift shop at the Ritz Hotel in Vancouver in the early 60’s, and she had several sterling charm bracelets; she gave me one which I still have. Just trying to find out more about it, I came across a note that Breadner Mfg Co’s mark might belong to Brunswick Mfg Co. (Pittsfield Ill.)
These charms are quite different to the enameled charms I’ve seen from Brunsick – they are cast, and this one has two crowns, two knights, one mounted, a shield, a lion couchant, and a medieval helmet. The lion has the curved “Sterling” with BMCo below it; the others are too small to have marks.
I haven’t been able to find out about the Brunswick Mfg Co or what they made, but thought you might be interested in this bit of info.
Happy charms!
I always appreciate learning more about charm manufacturers. Thanks for your input and happy charms to you too!
Hi charmers!
I did a little research on the BM Co mark awhile ago – I found 4 companies that use the letters “BMCo” in their marks:
Breadner (Canada), Birmingham (UK), Benedict (USA) or Brunswick (USA)
Several of them are very similar so you have to look for differences in the details. The type and theme of the charm can also help (eg., you can be pretty sure an enameled maple leaf is by Breadner).
Lorey, the other marks on your charm sound like British hallmarks – town marks, date marks, etc. See here:
http://www.silvercollection.it/ENGLISHSILVERMARKSXB2.html#1312ING
(scroll to bottom of page)
Here are some links for each of the companies:
Breadner Mfg Co – Canada
http://www.925-1000.com/canadiansilver_01.html
http://www.silvercollection.it/DICTIONARYTRADEMARKSUSA.html
http://www.silvercollection.it/AMERICANSILVERMARKSBDUE.html
http://www.modernsilver.com/mysterymarks2.htm
(about 15 entries from top, or do Ctrl F to search)
http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=31885&start=60
(Breadner company history)
Benedict Mfg Co – NY
http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=22716
Birmingham Medal Co – UK
http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Makers/Birmingham-B.html#BM
http://www.silvercollection.it/Englishsilvermarks3B.html
http://www.silvercollection.it/englishsilvermarksXBMMM.html
Brunswick Mfg Co. – Illinois
http://chicagosilver.com/s4marks1.htm
Such fun! Hope this helps!
Deb
PS – Wanda, I’ve LOVED wandering around your website for years… thank you!!!
OMG! This is wonderful! Lots of stuff I didn’t know so thank you so much. And thanks for looking at my website. It’s so nice when someone says they like my site.
My father worked for Breadner co from 1952 to 1978,he was the main production manager, and yes the BMco marks belong to them the company but during the 70’s there mostly produced plated souvenirs items,such as spoons,pins military badges,trophies and believe it or not souvenirs fishing lures and they really worked.They employed around 200 peoples .I remember visiting the plant a few times when I was around eight years old and I was always amazed at the sound of the machinery and watching the women applying the enamel with tweezers , with precision on the items,it was an amazing place to see.The place has a dear spot in my heart ,it is where my mom and dad meet and later lived happily ever after.I only have kind regards for Mr Breadner for hiring my father since he was handicap.The company went out of business in the 80’s but the city of Gatineau kept there street name in there honor.
I love that you have a personal story about the Breadner Co. I have a lot of the beautiful enamel charms. Right now I’m on a buying freeze but soon I’ll be on the lookout to add to my collection. Thanks so much for your comment.