Plumeria jewelry: meaning, styles and what to look for

Plumeria jewelry takes the shape of the plumeria flower, called melia or pua melia in Hawaiian: five rounded, overlapping petals around a small centre. It is the most familiar flower in Hawaiian jewelry and is usually given as a sign of welcome, affection and a tie to Hawaiʻi. Plumeria is not native to the islands. It was brought from tropical America around 1860 and became a lei flower over the decades that followed.

Where plumeria comes from

Plumeria trees are native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Most accounts credit William Hillebrand, the German physician and botanist whose Honolulu garden later became Foster Botanical Garden, with bringing plumeria to Hawaiʻi in 1860. The Hawaiian dictionary entry for melia says the word is probably borrowed from English, which fits a plant that arrived in the nineteenth century, and calls the flowers one of the commonest kinds for lei.

Plumeria did not start out as a favourite. The trees were widely planted in cemeteries for their shade and scent, and some families avoided wearing the flowers because of that association. Over the twentieth century, as the trees spread and more visitors arrived, plumeria became the lei most people picture when they think of Hawaiʻi: fragrant, easy to string and long-lasting.

What it means on jewelry

Because plumeria arrived in the 1800s, it does not have the old moʻolelo (stories) that native plants such as maile and naupaka carry. Its meaning comes from its place in island life now: the lei at an arrival, a graduation, a birthday. People give it for welcome, warmth and fondness, and as a reminder of home for someone who lives away from Hawaiʻi. That makes it a good choice when you want something clearly Hawaiian without a particular story attached. Our guide to Hawaiian jewelry symbols and meanings compares it with the other motifs.

Common styles

• Cut-out flower pendants and earrings. The flower is cut from metal sheet, with each petal engraved or textured. Sizes run from a small stud to a large pendant, and some have a stone, shell or coral centre.
• Engraved bands. Plumeria cut into the surface of a ring or bracelet, often alternating with scroll, sometimes with a name across the front in the heirloom style.
• Applied flowers. A separate flower soldered onto a band or bangle so it stands up from the surface.
• Enamel and colour. Some pieces fill the petals with coloured enamel. It looks bright when new, but enamel can chip with daily wear.

In gold you will mostly see 14k in yellow, white or rose. In silver it is sterling (925), sometimes rhodium plated so it does not tarnish.

What to look for when buying

Solid or hollow. Many bangles and some rings are made hollow to save gold. They look the same in a photograph but are lighter, dent more easily and are hard to resize or re-engrave. Ask for the weight in grams and whether the piece is solid.

Hand or machine engraving. Hand-cut engraving leaves bright, faceted cuts with crisp edges that catch the light, and small differences from piece to piece. Machine and laser engraving is usually shallower and perfectly even, and cast pieces have the pattern moulded in, so the edges look softer. None of these is wrong, but you should know which one you are paying for.

Karat stamps. Look inside for 14K or 585, 10K or 417, or 18K or 750. Sterling silver is stamped 925. Marks such as GP, GF, HGE or RGP mean gold plated or gold filled, not solid gold.

Made in Hawaiʻi or imported. Under Hawaiʻi law, a product may be sold as “made in Hawaii” only if at least 51 percent of its wholesale value was added in the state. A good deal of plumeria jewelry sold in the islands is made elsewhere. If it matters to you, ask where the piece was formed and where it was engraved.

Petal edges. Petal tips are the first thing to wear. Thicker metal with gently rounded edges lasts longer than a knife-thin cut-out.

For how metal, weight and handwork affect cost, see our guide to Hawaiian jewelry prices.

Care

Solid gold needs very little: warm water, a drop of mild dish soap and a soft toothbrush, then rinse and dry. Take your piece off for pools and hot tubs, since chlorine is hard on gold alloys, and put it on after lotion and sunscreen. White gold is usually rhodium plated and may need replating after a few years of wear. Sterling silver tarnishes; a silver polishing cloth handles most of it. Anything with enamel, shell, coral or koa should stay out of ultrasonic cleaners.

How we make plumeria

We cut plumeria by hand on our Heirloom Pendant, Heirloom Scroll Ring, Heirloom Scroll Bracelet and the gold rails of our Koa Inlay Ring. Every piece is made to order in 14k yellow, white or rose gold (with koa between the rails on the inlay ring), and we send you a proof showing size, metal, motif and engraving before we start. The engraving guide shows what fits, and the size guide helps you get the fit right.