Object of the Day: A Symbolic Victorian Stickpin

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the few ways that a gentleman had of expressing his individuality was through his choice of stickpin. Many men preferred to wear stickpins that were symbolic to their lives and the things they enjoyed. Hunting-themed and sporting-themed stickpins were quite common. However, very often a man would choose to adorn himself with a symbol of his romantic entanglements either with a miniature representation of his beloved or a pin which contained a lock of a lady’s hair.


A woman often presented her husband with the gift of a stickpin which would symbolize their union. Such is the case of this gold knot. In Victorian symbolism, the knot was a metaphor for fidelity and marriage. Here, we see a double knot in gold, anchored with a sparkling diamond in the center. The jeweler has sculpturally presented two ropes, braided together and permanently tied—the diamond representing the eternity of love.

This romantic pin was crafted in England in the mid Nineteenth Century. Made of the British standard fifteen karat gold, the stickpin proudly sports a very clear and bright diamond. This was, indeed, a very special gift.