Mizpah jewelry:During the Victorian era, jewelry often took on meanings that went beyond the style and intrinsic value of the gems. Words could be spelled out, using the first letters of stones: for example, a setting containing Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, and Diamond spelled REGARD to the eye trained to read the code. Likewise, mizpah jewelry was popularMizpah is a Hebrew word that means 'watchtower'. In the Book of Genesis, Jacob and Laban are given the wisdom to reconcile their differences, and live peacefully. As a symbol of their trust, they built a tower, a mizpah. In Genesis 31, before parting, Laban salutes Jacob: 'The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent, one from another.' Mizpah jewelry came to become a parting token of love or friendship. Often given as one person left for war, or emigrated, the Mizpah jewelry took a variety of forms. There were brooches, often with Celtic motifs such as knotwork, or two hearts pierced by an arrow or dirk. There were pendants, engraved with a pattern of ivy, symbolic of the enduring and symbiotic nature of the survival of ivy. Often the jewels, whether ring, brooch, or pendant, will bear the word Mizpah, which is loosely interpreted as 'May God watch over you.' |
