Alexis Bittar Lover’s Eye Ring or Necklace

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History and Meaning of Lover’s Eyes

In the 18th and early 19th centuries in England, particularly from 1785-1820, a lover or potential lover might give the object of their love a miniature painting of his/her eyes or, more often, a single eye. Not surprisingly, the miniatures were known as “lovers’ eyes”.  The fact that they were only an eye or eyes, the subject of the painting could remain secret since they tended to be secret gifts for illicit lovers.

The paintings were most often made into jewelry – pins or lockets – perhaps with a lock of hair on the back, to be worn on clothing or beneath one’s street clothes or just to be held and looked at. They were personal tokens, not made to be worn publicly.

Sometimes, a lover’s eye piece of jewelry would be commissioned after a spouse or loved one died as a remembrance like the first photo above with the diamond tear beneath the eye.

This somewhat odd depiction of a lover’s eye represented that giver’s gaze when the lovers were not together.

How I Discovered This Strange Art Form

Several years ago, I went to an opening at the Clark Gallery in Lincoln MA. One of the two artists whose works were showing was Tabitha Vevers, an artist from Cape Cod. She had painted a series of large lover’s eye paintings. I had never seen anything like them, and I was unfamiliar with the concept of lover’s eyes. Yet, I was mesmerized by the paintings.

Sadly, I didn’t buy one of the paintings, but they have always haunted me.

Alexis Bittar Lover’s Eye Jewelry

I’ve been collecting Alexis Bittar’s earrings for years. I have lots of his lightweight lucite and crystal dangling earrings as well as a couple of pairs of his crystal and metal earrings. As you may know, I love sparkly things.

A couple of months ago, I went to the Alexis Bittar website to check out his new fall collection. Amongst the new items, were lover’s eye rings and necklaces. I was so surprised to find these modern day versions that were meant to be worn and seen.

The print of the eye was developed by Alexis Bittar and hand-painted by artist Linda Mordan. It was reproduced for the rings and necklaces. The jewelry is crafted from 14k gold plated brass metalwork with enamel and glass. The ring and necklace come in a “white” and “black” skin versions with cream and green enamel respectively on the sides of the raised part. The Alexis Bittar name/logo is stamped on the underside.

In My Dreams Eye Ring

I decided to go with the “white skin” In My Dreams Eye Ring with cream enamel. I had no idea what my ring size was, but I measured my ring finger as well as my middle finger, and I decided to take a chance on size 7. The rings comes in whole sizes from 6-9. Fortunately, I chose right. The ring is a just a little bit big for my ring finger, but fits perfectly on my middle finger. 

The original price of the ring was $225, way more than I would pay for it. But fortunately, it was marked down to $50. Then, a 20% off sale brought the price down to $40 with free shipping. Bingo! I got my new ring yesterday, and I love wearing it already!

In My Dreams Eye Pendant Necklace

The In My Dreams Eye Pendant Necklaces are very similar to the rings: the same skin tones, materials, and size of the eye (0.74″ x 0.5″). The price is the same as well. The length of the necklace is 16″ with a 2.5″ extender.

For $40 each, these lover’s eye jewelry items would make an unusual gift for someone who likes things historical or artistic or just out of the ordinary! Plus, it was very nicely packaged

and came inside of a suede Alexis Bittar pouch.

What do you think: interesting or creepy???

Allison Cohen

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