The Gucci Link Is More Than Jewelry. It’s a Virgin Islands Heirloom

Ari Douglas, one other Virgin Islander now dwelling overseas, echoes this sentiment. “Seeing somebody carrying Gucci jewellery makes me really feel a way of neighborhood,” she says. “Virtually like an unstated understanding that we’re from the identical place — and the V.I. is certainly giant.”

Past island pleasure, Gucci jewellery has change into a cherished household heirloom for a lot of Virgin Islanders. David Fonseca is aware of this firsthand, as his love for Gucci jewellery began younger. He remembers receiving his first chain round age 4 or 5, with a customized pendant. Fonseca’s present chain, a present from his late brother, holds a particular significance as a continuing reminder of his brother’s life and a symbolic supply of safety. “Having Gucci on appears like a chunk of dwelling,” he shares.

Teia Lettsome’s story displays the same expertise to Fonseca’s. “[The] first time I acquired my Gucci jewellery was as a child,” she says. “My mother made a gold customized nameplate, which I nonetheless have ‘until today, together with my Gucci chain.”

Whether or not cherished from childhood or acquired later in life, proudly owning Gucci jewellery appears like a ceremony of passage for a lot of Virgin Islanders. The traditional puffed mariner hyperlink stays a staple, however jewelers like native firm Cardow Jewelers, established in 1954, now provide a various choice of earrings, rings, and even watches, catering to a broader vary of types.

Simply because the mariner chain was designed with power and sturdiness in thoughts, the spirit of the Virgin Islands individuals was constructed to final, representing a individuals who have weathered literal and metaphorical storms and nonetheless persevered, a tradition that mirrors the breathtaking views from any V.I. hilltop.

The subsequent time you go to the B.V.I. or U.S.V.I. and are looking for a singular and significant souvenir, ditch the keychain and contemplate a chunk of Gucci jewellery. It’d simply change into a cherished a part of your story, as it’s ours.