Where that bracelet is today
The ʻAloha ʻOe bangle is held by the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. It is not a family legend — it is an object you can go and see.
Hand engraved, all the way round
Turn it
The carving does not stop where a photograph does. Drag to turn the piece and see the engraving on every side.
Drag to turn
Our heritage
The bracelet a queen commissioned for herself
In 1862, word reached Hawaiʻi that Queen Victoria's husband had died. Lydia Kamakaʻeha — the woman who would become Queen Liliʻuokalani — did not wait for a gift. She commissioned one.
1862
Lydia Kamakaʻeha commissions a solid gold bangle from the Honolulu jeweler Christian Eckart, in the black-enamel style then worn in mourning across Europe. She chooses the words herself: Hoʻomanaʻo Mau — a lasting remembrance. She wears it for the rest of her life, from High Chiefess to last reigning monarch.
1887
Queen Kapiʻolani and Princess Liliʻuokalani travel to London for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Engraved Victorian jewelry is at its height.
5 January 1893
Liliʻuokalani gives Zoe Atkinson a gold bangle engraved ʻAloha ʻOe · Liliʻuokalani · Jan. 5, 1893, in thanks for her help at ʻIolani Palace.
Twelve days later, the monarchy is overthrown.
Twelve days later, the monarchy is overthrown.
After 1893
Zoe wears the bracelet to Pohukaina School, where her father Alatau Atkinson is principal. The students are captivated. Their mothers begin ordering bangles for their daughters — for birthdays, graduations, weddings. The heirloom tradition begins, and has not stopped since.
The version you may have heard
Most retellings say Queen Victoria gave Liliʻuokalani the first bracelet. She did not. It is a well-documented myth, and it is repeated almost everywhere — including by people in this trade who mean no harm by it.
The true version is the better one. A Hawaiian woman commissioned a Hawaiian jeweler to make something in her own language, and chose the words that went on it. That is the tradition we work in.
The true version is the better one. A Hawaiian woman commissioned a Hawaiian jeweler to make something in her own language, and chose the words that went on it. That is the tradition we work in.
About the designs
Maile, plumeria, honu, scroll, quilt — these are modern designs in a Hawaiian tradition, not ancient symbols, and we will not tell you otherwise.
The plants and creatures they depict do carry real meaning in Hawaiian culture. The engraved patterns themselves are a craft that grew up in the last hundred and fifty years, and they are chosen because of what they look like, what they mean to the person wearing them, and how they sit at a given width. If a jeweler offers you a fixed meaning for a bracelet design, ask where it comes from.
The plants and creatures they depict do carry real meaning in Hawaiian culture. The engraved patterns themselves are a craft that grew up in the last hundred and fifty years, and they are chosen because of what they look like, what they mean to the person wearing them, and how they sit at a given width. If a jeweler offers you a fixed meaning for a bracelet design, ask where it comes from.
What we engrave
A name, a date, or a few words someone means to keep — the same thing Liliʻuokalani asked for in 1862.
We engrave the ʻokina and the kahakō. They are letters, not decoration, and leaving them off changes the word. If your name or your phrase carries them, say so and they will be cut correctly.
We engrave the ʻokina and the kahakō. They are letters, not decoration, and leaving them off changes the word. If your name or your phrase carries them, say so and they will be cut correctly.