Nowadays we like products that are either new, free, or durable. At the end of the 19th century, a ‘patented product’ had the same magical kind of ring to it. In that period of time, Newark, New Jersey, was considered to be the USA capital of jewellery. Here cousins George and Thomas Krementz started Krementz & Co, one of the biggest companies selling gold- and gold overlay jewellery. Both naturalistic and art nouveau designs were very popular at the time.

The patent mentioned on the clasp is No. 369,452. Patented Sept. 6, 1887: An improved bracelet which is simple in construction, is very flexible, and rests closely on the wrist, and which can easily be made any desired length without altering any of the parts. The invention consists in a bracelet formed of a row of flanged apertured links, which are fiexibly united by wire staples passed through apertures in adjacent sides of two adjacent links and then bent over on the inside of one link.

Well truly, this is the best bracelet I’ve ever worn for a test day. It feels soft, light and it is indeed extremely flexible. I also love the unusual type of security chain.

At first glance the flowers on the bracelet seem to be forget-me-nots, however forget-me-nots actually have 5 petals, when the ones depicted here have 6. Turns out, blue-eyed grass is a primitive low-growing iris, with distinctive yellow-centered, bright blue star-like flowers with 6 petals. This wild flower is native to midwestern & eastern North America. More specifically in the grasslands around Newark…