Most people have never heard of ‘Sweetheart Jewelry’ and I only found out about it by accident. Years ago I purchased a piece to sell either in the shop or on ebay and researched to find out what it was. I found the history of these pieces to be wonderful and interesting. This is only the 2nd piece I’ve ever found.
Some of the facts written below are from Pamela Wiggins of About.com.
The tradition of sending mementos home to loved ones from the war front began during World War I and intensified during World War II.
Sweetheart jewelry was machine made and sold to servicemen abroad, but many pieces were also handcrafted in the trenches. These are often referred to as "trench art," since some of them were literally made in the trenches overseas. Making the jewelry helped pass the time and keep the soldiers minds occupied.
The lack of materials available for jewelry manufacturing led them to get creative. Many pieces are constructed of inexpensive wire, natural materials such as mother of pearl, hand carved wood or anything else readily available.
Even the machine made pieces of sterling silver tell a tale, since most metals were on ration lists to be used for war machinery and weapons at that time. If you find a sterling piece from World War II, it was likely made outside the United States.
These collectibles represent an era where practically the entire country backed the war effort. Women moved into factory positions while children were mounting ration campaigns. Cookbooks told of ways to help the war effort and even sheet music was printed in a smaller size for a while to help out. Working together to achieve a goal never meant more. A soldier gave this jewelry to someone special as a gesture of love and remembrance. And many times the piece would signify his general location, like the South Pacific, or his branch of military service.
This piece was also in the pieces of jewelry I bought and I’m not sure if it was a piece of sweetheart jewelry or not but could very likely have been since it was handcrafted, looks like Mother of Pearl and says Mother on it.
I won’t be keeping these for myself but hopefully they will end up with someone who collects and loves their charm and history. But I still find it so exciting to come across a piece of ‘Sweetheart Jewelry’ from the War knowing it had been made for someone very special and loved waiting on the homefront!
Be sure and go visit our hostess ColoradoLady and see who's doing Vintage Thingies Thursdays today.
