Hello, today I will be reviewing the Waxing Poetic’s Pisana Sanctum Crown charm. Along with liking all things with stars, hearts, feathers, and leaves, I also like royal motifs such as crowns and such. I know, I really should be more discriminating when it comes to collecting things, but I can’t help it.

First Impression:

I have to admit, the fact that this charm had a Latin name made it all the more desirable even though I have no idea what it meant. I will talk more about this a little later. I have to say the online picture is completely different than what this charm looks like IRL.  I don’t know if I can describe it, the online image makes it look like the charm has an almost satin finish to it, or you can say it almost looks like a really good charcoal drawing. In real life, the charm is much shinier and smaller. I should really pay more attention to the dimensions stated on the websites. One other thing to note, at first glance I thought the center part of the charm where the crown is, was a shiny engraving of the crown, upon closer inspection I realized it was a cut out shape of a crown which I ended up liking better.

Review:

So out of curiosity I tried to look up what the words sanctum and pisana meant, I’m not sure if I got the correct definitions; sanctum means a private or sacred place, shrine or refuge. Pisana on the other hand seems to be a feminine form of pisano, someone from the city of Pisa. If anyone out there can corroborate this I would be grateful! So perhaps this means Holy Pisa? SMH

 

Anyway getting back to the charm, don’t quote me on this, but I get the impression that this charm may have come in two sizes, one 5/8th of an inch, the other 1 inch. The reason I think this charm came in two sizes is because there are other charms in the Pisana Sanctum collection and in the descriptions some of them come in 1 inch. I am unable to confirm this as unfortunately this charm has been discontinued, and when that happens the info gets removed along with the charm and it’s harder for me to find the information online. Here is the back of the charm, as you can see it is marked with the Waxing Poetic hallmark.

 

I ended up getting the 5/8th of an inch as it was the only one left, although I would’ve loved to have gotten the one inch size instead. As with other charms in the Waxing Poetic collection, this charm looks like a wax seal, and yet again I’m surprised of how thin the charm is. I guess I should start saving for a necklace as well as a bracelet, as I will most likely wear this as a pendant for fear of bending it or getting it badly dinged.

 

At this point, I have three charms now that I will be using as pendants for fear of damage because in my opinion they seem more delicate than the other Waxing Poetic charms I own. That’s ok though, I can picture wearing them all three, or layering them with different size chains.

 

I have to remind you all that the chain pictured with these charms is not a Waxing Poetic chain, it is just a white gold bead and ball chain that I’ve had for years now. Can’t wait to get an actual Waxing Poetic necklace though, I think it would match better with the style and material of their charms.

In Conclusion:

As expected, I like this charm a lot, it is very vintage, and I love the wax seal style. It reminds me of ye olden times when people used to seal their notes with hot wax and stamp them with their family crests or initials. This charm retailed for $40 and I believe the larger charm retailed for $60. Both are sterling silver and are now retired.

I hope you liked this review, and if you do come across it, snatch it up as it’s very hard to find now, in the meantime, happy hunting!

 

All images with my watermark belong to me, all other images belong to their respective owner such as Waxing Poetic.