My maternal grandmother, Grace, was a bit of a pack rat. We discovered this when, at her insistence, the family began cleaning out her home and readying it to sell.
After
three days of sorting, my sister, mother and I sat down to go through her
jewelry boxes. The memories were fun – the bird and flower and dragonfly pins
she always wore when teaching because her kindergarten and first grade students
loved them. [The articulated owl was my favorite.] We found several cameos. And
pearls, of all lengths. Seems GGG-Great Grandmother Grace loved pearls.
In
a box marked “Keepsakes” we found hat pins and buttons and old marbles. And a
watch fob. The card with it says it belonged to GGG’s father, my Great
Grandfather Ole, a Norwegian wheat farmer from
The chain is nothing fancy but there is a bit of bling on it that brought a wonderful surprise. The square gold locket fob hanging from the center held an old photo of my Great Grandmother Julia.
The
find got me thinking: what kind of bling would you find on a gentleman’s dressing
table in the 1800s?
A fancy button waiting to be sewn back onto a vest. We found a few of those, military coat buttons mostly, carefully pinned to cards identifying the owners.
Cufflinks of gold, perhaps declaring the gentleman's membership in an organization like the Masons.
The
pocket watch has been around since the 1500s. Originally a status symbol only
the very rich could afford, by the 19th century most anyone who
wanted one could buy one.
Attached to the pocket watch would be a chain, one end secured to his clothing, the other to the watch. Most commonly, the chain would hook through a button hole on his vest or coat, leaving the chain to drape across his middle to the pocket containing the watch. The chain was functional--it kept his watch attached to his person should it accidentally slip from the pocket--but it could also be jewelry.
My Great Grandfather's watch chain was made of human hair. I assume the chain was braided by Julia for Ole--perhaps it was a gift for him when they were betrothed. I can imagine him, all spiffed up and looking proud, with that chain and fob adorning his vest.
What
is a fob, you ask? Fobs are medallions that would hang from the end of a
gentleman’s watch chain. Their purpose was to help pull the watch from their
vest pocket.
They could be made of the same material as the chain: gold, silver, hair, etc. Here's a good example - the fob is the small length of braided hair chain hanging by the button finding. Do you see the loop at the end? From there the gentleman could hang almost any bit of bling he wished. The fob could display the family crest or be covered with gold and jewels. It could be a locket, like Great Grandfather Ole's, or perhaps a cameo.
The fob wasn't an exclusively male piece of jewelry. Women commonly wore very ornate little fobs such as decorated balls or baskets of flowers or lockets.
In Victorian times, garment clip chains were worn by women on the pocket of a blouse or waist band of a skirt and were worn by men clipped directly on the trouser pocket or vest pocket.
Women also wore their watches on long chains, or slides. The slide was a very long chain with a slide in the middle that could be adjusted to the length that looked best with the lady's garment. The slide itself could be engraved, or decorated with seed pearls or small gemstones.
Or perhaps she preferred to wear a pin.
The
possibilities were only limited by the wearer's taste and financial means.
Tracy
Lovely post, full of charming memories and details. This is exactly why we love the things our families cherish and hand down. Their real value lies in the connection they evoke. Given the period, the human hair is probably mourning jewelry. The Victorians commonly used the hair of a deceased relative to make designs and chains. It may seem ghoulish to us, but in an era where photographs were a luxury, it was a way of hanging on to the recollections of the person in life. It was rare for them to make hair jewelry from someone still alive.
ReplyDeleteMy late father had a collection of pocketwatches, some from the family and some given to him by folks who saw he liked pocketwatches and didn't know what to do with the ones he inherited. I have some of them, others are still at mom's.
ReplyDeleteLove the broach watch especially -- I have one with a dragon pin and a flying horse on the back of the case.
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteSuch sentimental treasures you've discovered and how fortunate that many of the items were labeled. Many of the little hand-me-down pieces of jewelry and other tidbits that I've collected and saved over the years are in my safety deposit box with labels that have as much information as I could document.
This is a good idea, having boxes with labels to give a history of a piece of jewellery or watch. I don't have anything further back than my mom, unfortunately, but I treasure one of her rings and will definitely have to provide a history. Great post, Tracy, and valuable research.
ReplyDeleteI love old jewellery like these pieces. Sadly, when grandparents and dying and leaving their belongings - and likely the belongings of their grandparents, their heirs in 20s and 30s hate the items, and dump them as quickly as they can.
ReplyDeleteSuch precious memories. Wonderful blog, Tracy.
ReplyDeleteI have a long thick gold watch chain that belonged to my Great great Uncle Jess. My dad used it to carry his keys and the chain still has his final keys on it
It's not difficult to understand why something meant to keep time became the center of fashion. These examples are beautiful. It's particularly wonderful when you're lucky enough to have inherited such a treasure.
ReplyDeleteI have me mother's watch. It has a little sapphire on either side of the clock face. It no longer works and can't be repaired, but I wear it in her memory sometimes.
This was a lovely blog, Tracy. All the best to you.