What's in a Name?

Posted by Laurie Zeiden on May 22, 2016

People love their own names and the names of their loved ones. Jewelry reflects that love in the form of name and initial jewelry and also via the personalized engraving of names, initials, dates and messages.

Names go in and out of fashion. So does jewelry. Many of today's most popular names are the same names that were popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. So it's no surprise that Victorian name jewelry is collectible in today's market since many of the popular Victorian names are common once again.

NAME JEWELRY

Here are several examples of Victorian name pins. Essentially they are bar pins. They were often worn at the collar, with a name front and center.

Two Victorian pierced or open work name pins

This pin is a later example, probably around 1920. I suspect the jeweler had a number of components to mix and match.

Gold Hebrew name necklace reading Aliza

Personalized name cuff links from Swank

Carved plastic pin designed to mimic ivory

This Victorian BABY pin was badly damaged, so it was repurposed into a necklace.

INITIAL JEWELRY

Two necklace slides

Two sterling silver initial pins

Blue glass and rhinestone initial pin

Lisner brooch. Is it a Q or a circle pin with a flourish?

Four pieces above are costume jewelry pins

Initial B snap cuff links

MONOGRAM JEWELRY

The two examples above are personalized by placing letters into a frame

Art Nouveau styling on this silver pin. Hard to read, but I believe the monogram is MHO

PERSONALIZED and ENGRAVED JEWELRY

Love tokens or engraved coins often have names on them. These examples all date to the second half of the 19th century. For more examples and info, check out my Love Tokes blog dated 23 April 2016.