“Eliza” hair band from Erica Weiner

This beautiful gold ring with intricately braided brown hair and a milgrain border is about a size 6.5 and was probably made in the US sometime in the first half of the 19th century. Hair jewelry was often made in honor of a deceased person - hence “mourning jewelry” - but was just as often made as a memento for the living. Hair jewelry could be tokens of remembrance to sustain a long separation between a husband and wife, or even as a symbol of loyalty between two friends. Our ring lacks any kind of inscription on the inside, which leads us to speculate that this may not since be a mourning ring, since they were customarily inscribed with some sort of information about the honoree’s death. All we know is that someone named Eliza, deceased or living, was near and dear to the owner of this ring.