Symbolism

Since the beginning of jewelry making, romantic symbols have been part of the equation; famous symbols include heart, eye, cupids and quivers, animals, flowers, and hands.

  • According to Lynn Ramsey, president of the Jewelry Information center in NYC, "symbolism can be as obvious as the heart or as clandestine as the communication in acrostic jewelry in which the first initials for the gems spell out a message, i.e. ruby + emerald + garnet + amethyst + ruby + diamond = Regard.
  • Acrostic jewelry was popular starting in the late 1700s.
  • The heart remains the most popular symbol in romantic jewelry-Queen Victoria wrote in her diary in 1843 about a heart-shapped gold brooch.
  • The symbols of the eye originates in Egypt where "udjat, or eye jewelry" goes back to 1715 B.C.
  • The eye represents Horus the all seeing bird-god.
  • Early in the 18th century in England, eyes appeared on pendants.
  • Eyes are also associated with keeping evil spirits away-Madonna received a bracelet with blue "eyes" from Carlos Leon.
  • The French jeweler Faberge popularized Cupid jewelry, giving Venus' son's arrows in diamonds.
  • In Victorian England, targets represented "the game of love"
  • Snakes, despite their current connotations, are frequently found in ancient jewelry as a symbol of eternal love. Queen Victoria wore a gold snake biting its tail as her wedding ring.
  • The butterfly is a stand in for Psyche, since her lover Cupid turned her into one. In Art Nouveau, butterfly jewelry was "a metaphor for love's beauty."
  • Romans saw the butterfly as a symbol for the soul, and the soul as the place where love originates.
  • "In Elizabethan and Victorian times, flies or moths symbolized the heart and soul hovering dangerously close to the flame of love."
  • Find a pin with a bee near a crescent moon? It's a honeymoon pin, the first gift a bride received from her Victorian husband.
  • Flowers and their meanings: jeweled flower stands for "love in bloom"; daisy equals innocence, pansy means thoughts, mistletoe means a kiss.
  • In the middle ages, posy rings were inscribed with poetry.
  • For Romans, "betrothal rings depicted hands to show commitment and spiritual union."
  • The Irish Claddagh ring, with two hands holding a crowned heart remains extremely popular.

Source: Written and researched by Sylvie Beauvais, Philadelphia, PA Adapted from Mary Martin Niepold, "Love is where the heart is." Jewelers Circular Keystone, March 1997, Vol. 168 n.3, p86.