One of the things that Nancy likes to do with all of their customers who are interested in bracelets, to share the real “story” of the Hawaiian Heirloom Bracelets with each of the Maui Topaz family and friends.
The history of Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry dates back to England during the Victorian Era. Queen Kapiolani and Princess Liliuokalani (above, left and right) traveled to England and attended Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. Fifty monarchs from around the world were invited to this celebration of Queen Victoria’s 50 year reign.
Queen Victoria presented to Hawaiian Monarchs precious solid gold bracelets, with their names hand engraved in Old English lettering filled with black enamel. The black enamel was the Queen’s “signature” of her eternal mourning for her beloved late husband, Prince Albert who died in 1862. (See photo of Albert above. Below see the wedding ceremony of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert).
Hawaiian Queen Kapiolani and Princess Liliuokalani were so enraptured with these unique gifts that they had similar bracelets made for other Royal members upon their return to Hawaii. A tradition was born and lives on today in the Hawaiian islands, stronger than ever. Hawaiian jewelry is often given to celebrate family milestones such as birthdays, graduations, weddings and anniversaries. And then an heirloom is passed on from generation to generation. From Tutu to Keiki from Mother to Daughter from Family to Mom, it has become a tireless tradition, all with a generation of “Aloha Spirit”.
The tradition of giving gold jewelry lives on today on Maui. Visit Maui Repair & Design Studio to see the many choices that are available for you. Follow the link to check out our Hawaiian Heirloom page.
Whether the visual subject matter is that of Maui’s exquisite flowers, the dolphins that grace our island, our regular humpback whale visitors, our artisans at Maui Topaz Jewelry have a varied natural and manmade historical background to use for the themes found in their exquisite Hawaii Heirloom Pictorial gold bracelet creations