What does a bow symbolize in jewelry?

A tied knot that holds: love, union and remembrance. It also has a purely decorative origin, since real ribbon was once used to attach jewels to clothing.

Can a brooch be worn as a pendant?

Often, yes. Many antique brooches were made convertible with a fitted bail, and a jeweler can sometimes add a discreet, reversible bail. We check this for each individual piece.

Symbolism & meaning

Bow jewelry: meaning and history

The knot that cannot be untied, from eighteenth century court ribbons to Edwardian platinum lace.

Written by our in-house jewelry team · Updated August 7, 2026 · 6 min read

Edwardian platinum filigree pendant with milgrain detail on pale silk — Bow jewelry: meaning and history

In short

A bow in jewelry began as a literal ribbon holding a jewel in place at court, and became a motif in its own right. Tied together, it reads as a bond that holds: an emblem of love, union and remembrance. Bow brooches are found from the eighteenth century onward, reached a peak in the Edwardian years in fine platinum and diamond work, and returned again in mid-century gold.

Bows are everywhere in antique jewelry and are easy to walk past. They are worth a second look, because the bow is one of the clearest ways to date a piece by style alone.

Here is where the motif came from, what it meant, and how the same shape changes completely from one century to the next.

Shop the pieces: Edwardian, curated and available now.

From real ribbon to metal ribbon

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries jewels were genuinely tied to clothing with silk ribbon. Jewelers began to render the ribbon itself in silver and gold, set with rose cut diamonds, so the fastening became the jewel.

A bow knot is tied and holds. That gave it its meaning: a bond, a union, a promise kept. It is a natural gift motif and remains one.

Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian

Georgian bows are typically silver-set over gold with foiled, closed-back stones and a slightly stiff, symmetrical shape. Victorian bows soften and often carry a drop, a locket or a fringe.

The Edwardian bow is the famous one: platinum, millegrained, pierced into lace-like garlands and set with small old cut diamonds. If a bow brooch is light in the hand, white and airy, and covered in fine beading, you are almost certainly looking at the Edwardian or Belle Époque taste.

Silver over gold, closed backs, foiled stones: Georgian
Yellow gold, drops and lockets: Victorian
Platinum, millegrain, pierced lace: Edwardian and Belle Époque
Heavy yellow or rose gold, three dimensional scrolls: Retro and mid-century

Buying a bow brooch

Look at the pin fitting: a long pin extending past the body and a C-catch suggest an earlier piece, while a rolled-over safety catch is generally later. Fittings are also the part most often replaced, so use them as one clue among several rather than proof.

Pierced Edwardian work is delicate. Check for repairs and for solder that has been flooded across the piercing, which flattens the design and is difficult to undo.

Victorian yellow gold locket and seed pearls on aged linen with old letters — Symbolism & meaning — from the pieces and workshop notes behind this guide.

Frequently asked questions

What does a bow symbolize in jewelry?: A tied knot that holds: love, union and remembrance. It also has a purely decorative origin, since real ribbon was once used to attach jewels to clothing.
Can a brooch be worn as a pendant?: Often, yes. Many antique brooches were made convertible with a fitted bail, and a jeweler can sometimes add a discreet, reversible bail. We check this for each individual piece.

Written by our estate jewelry team and reviewed by our in-house gemologist. We have been buying and selling European antique jewelry since 1973.

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