The next time you’re traveling, keep an eye out for people wearing distinctive pendants or bracelets bearing silver lions’ heads. Seeing one, you’ll know that person has been to St. Augustine.
That’s because the Nation’s Oldest City has a unique brand of jewelry, which was unveiled Friday, Dec. 3, at ArtBox gallery in downtown St. Augustine. The pieces are fashioned after the iconic guardians at the base of the Bridge of Lions and are the result of a collaboration between three of the gallery’s artists.
Lisa Myers came up with the idea two years ago after visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands. She noticed that people who visit there often purchase and wear special hook bracelets unique to the Caribbean.
“I said, ‘We need something that says St. Augustine to people,’” she recalled. She realized that the lions were just the thing.
She shared her idea with Laura O’Neal, and both took resident jewelry maker Donna Moody Gray into their confidence.
“The jewelry that Donna makes is just so quality and so beautiful,” said O’Neal. “We knew that our vision of a quality art piece would be safe with Donna.”
But they soon got busy with exhibit openings and keeping ArtBox viable through the worst of the pandemic, and it took a while before they were able to act on the idea.
Finally, it was time to get serious. O’Neal took some photos of the Bridge of Lions, from which she did some sketches. After that, Gray searched for just the right people to create the lion portions of the jewelry based on the sketches. The lion heads are made of 925 sterling silver.
There followed a period of testing to see if the jewelry is comfortable to wear, how heavy it is and whether it would fall off.
Once Gray receives the finished lions, she puts the bracelets together with braided leather and the necklaces with sterling silver chains. The lions on the bracelets link together by magnet, interlocking nodes and a small clasp.
“I’m so excited because it’s like a dream that I had when we first opened,” said Myers. “I thought this would bring something to St. Augustine that it doesn’t have.”
“We really wanted to have a piece of jewelry that would connect all the people of St. Augustine,” said O’Neal. “Everybody that loves St. Augustine should have one of these.”
The lions at the bridge are named “Firm” and “Faithful,” and these names appear on the jewelry as well. And the artistic trio are having some fun with that.
“We discovered this very, very old St. Augustine legend,” Gray said seriously before breaking into a laugh. “Actually, we just made it up.”
She said if the bracelet is worn with “Firm” facing up, the wearer is looking for love. If it’s “Faithful,” however, the wearer is in a committed relationship.
This legend mirrors a similar one associated with the Caribbean hook bracelets.
The jewelry can only be purchased at ArtBox, 137 King St. Unit C, St. Augustine. Bracelets run $250. Larger pendants are $175, and smaller ones are $150. The jewelry can be customized, as well.
