Original Vintage & Restored Leather Keyrings for Classic Cars & Motorcycles

Bristol - original vintage 1950s/ 1960s keyring - well used condition

NOW SOLD – sorry this keyring has now been sold and can no longer be ordered
An original vintage Bristol keyring which will have been produced in the 1950s or 1960s.
When this keyring has been sold this listing will be cancelled.

The keyring in this listing is an original vintage Bristol keyring dating from the 1950s or 1960s .

This keyring is in well used condition – we do know from long experience that it is not every customer who appreciates a keyring in new, mint condition !

Many actually prefer a keyring which has had a life – which this one obviously has had .

The keyring is still in serviceable condition – but shows all the signs of having covered many, many thousands of miles during it’s long life.

The badge would originally have been bright & shiny nickel plated but this has worn through to reveal the underlying brass base metal beneath – this has given the badge a rather pleasing and aged appearance which would be impossible to replicate by artificial methods.

A few vestiges of the original plating are still evident on the back of the badge.

The badge is still securely mounted to the genuine leather keyfob which is very well worn and supple with many years of use – rather like leather horse harness becomes after years of use .

We cannot be certain who made these keyrings for Bristol –and assumed that the maker would most likely be Castles Unit Development Co. of Castle Gate, Leicester .

They were one of the few concerns making keyrings of this quality at that time .

The keyring has one of the smallest keyfob badges ever – with a diameter of just 16mm.

If Castles did not make this particular keyring then Bristol could have had the badges made independently and then commissioned a leather workshop to mount the badges onto these keyfobs.

This is entirely feasible as Bristol commissioned us to make some special keyrings for them some years ago- rather than have them mass produced in the Far East as most other manufacturers now do.

However a former Bristol owner from British Columbia, Canada has made contact to say that a similar pair of keyrings were supplied by Bristol in 1966 together with a new Bristol 409 shipped to Victoria B.C. Canada .

Those keyrings had ‘J.FRAY B’HAM ‘ on the badge reverse which had a pebbled background .

J. FRAY of Birmingham is a maker well known to us and could well have carried on making these keyrings for Bristol after Castles stopped making them .

Frays always marked the reverse of their badges with their details – so we think that this particular keyring in this listing  predates the keyrings made by Frays .

We are very grateful to the Bristol owner from Canada for his contribution – without owners like him much of the ‘lore’ surrounding these early keyrings would by now have been lost forever .

This keyring is original & correct for use with any 1950s or 1960s Bristol motor car and is a very rare item.

The keyring in the photos is the actual one which you will receive. SMOSO  00/521    10/23