Hooked on a bracelet from St. Croix

Above: From Sonya Ltd. in St. Croix, home of the original Crucian hook bracelet

     

                              The Crucian hook bracelet, a simple band of silver and gold clasped by a hook, is associated with the Virgin Islands, but its original origins is lost in time. Some say the bracelet was brought to the islands by European settlers, that it was a version of a Danish wedding band. Others claim that it came from Africa where archeologists have found bracelets and fishing hooks made from various metals. Another legend says they were worn by wives of fisherman who would turn the hook outward when their husbands went out to sea, and then turn it inward when they were due to return in order to assure that they would come home safely. Most agree that the bracelet was given a rebirth in 1964 when Sonya Hough of Sonya Ltd., a small jewelry store on Company Street in Christiansted on the island of St. Croix, designed her version of the simple bracelet. That is the version worn by Janice Dusseau Jones, who was born on St. Croix, and her husband Donald. They talked to Bijoux Bios on what the hook bracelet has meant to them.

Janice Dusseau Jones: I’ve traveled to different places in the world and have had people come up to me and ask, “Are you from St. Croix?” I’ve said, “Yes, how did you know?” And they’ve said, “Well, I saw your Crucian bracelet,” and they stick their hand out and they’d have one on too. 

Donald Jones: We were in Germany once and someone noticed the bracelet.

 

Janice: If you’re from St. Croix, you are Crucian like if you’re from Florida, you’re a Floridian. So that’s where you’ll get the Crucian hook bracelet because it originated there. The artist, the jewelry maker’s name is Sonya and she’s been in business some 50 years. I had a Crucian hook bracelet when I was a baby. In St. Croix, man, woman, child, black, white -- all had Crucian hook bracelets. It’s like the symbol of the area, kind of like a Claddagh ring in Ireland. Now they’ve become so popular, they’re making them in many other places, but the original Crucian hook bracelet is from Sonya’s in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

     

Donald: Everybody was very proud to be from the Island. And she created this piece that kind of meant that.

 

Janice: You wear the hook towards you if you’re taken. You wear the hook away from you if you’re available. Sonya makes other lovely jewelry, making a new silver bracelet for every hurricane that passes by the island. I’m always eager to go back and see what Sonya has designed new in her bracelets.

 

Donald: Other people have made a hook design, but you can pick out Sonya’s because all of hers are sterling silver hammered and they have a specific gold wrap. People have kind of mimicked her and created their own design but you know a Sonya design when you see it. 

 

Janice: I do anyway. Of course Donald got his when we went on our honeymoon in St. Croix. It was time to initiate him and he’s been wearing his ever since.

 

Donald: It’s a great memory. Twenty-two years. I’ve had it for 22 years and you know? You don’t really need to take it off. It’s almost like a wedding band.

 

Janice: I get a lot of compliments. I like to wear my bracelets stacked together with the number of them that I have. I get so many compliments just because they’re pretty. But when people hear the story about it, then they really want to have one for themselves because it makes you part of something.

   

Donald: What is jewelry? Jewelry doesn’t have to be a piece of metal. Certain African tribes put wood discs in their ears or their lips. We may never see these in person, but we learn from wonderful articles in National Geographic that this is their version of an adornment, an item that means something to them. Everything has a story behind it.

Janice: Jewelry can make you feel special, so I think that’s important. This particular bracelet makes me feel connected. You know, it’s where I was born. It has a very special meaning to me, but so do the earrings my husband gave to me when we had our child. So often there are connections with your jewelry. Even if it wasn’t a special gift — costume jewelry, for example — it’s an expression of who you are. You decide that for this party, I’m gonna wear this piece or for this event, I’m gonna wear another piece. You are presenting a persona. For a business meeting, you might wear a certain kind of earrings as part of your presentation. So, yes, jewelry is special.

 

Donald Jones and Janice Dusseau were interviewed by Bijoux Bios’ Jaye Ann Terry on July 5, 2019 in Saint Augustine