Hawaiian jewelry symbols and meanings

The motifs on Hawaiian heirloom jewelry come from the islands’ plants, animals and the Victorian engraving tradition the style grew from. Maile, a fragrant native vine used for wedding lei, stands for honour and the bond of marriage. Plumeria (pua melia) is the everyday lei flower and reads as warmth and welcome. The honu, the green sea turtle, means long life and steady endurance. Naupaka, the half-flower, is a sign of love across distance. Hibiscus is the state flower. Scroll is the oldest element of all, carried over from the Victorian jewelry worn by Hawaiian royalty. None of them is a rule: choose the one that holds a story for you.

Maile

Maile is a native Hawaiian vine with glossy leaves and a sweet, vanilla-like scent. Its leafy vines are twisted into an open-ended lei that hangs straight down, rather than a closed circle. Lei maile has long been given to honour people, and it is the lei you are most likely to see at a wedding in Hawaiʻi, often worn by the groom.

On jewelry, maile is cut as a band of paired leaves that wraps the whole way around a ring or bracelet. That is why it suits wedding bands so well. You will find it on the Maile Wedding Band, the Koa Inlay Ring and the Heirloom Scroll Bracelet.

Plumeria

Plumeria is called pua melia in Hawaiian. It is not native: it was brought to Hawaiʻi in 1860 from tropical America and grew so well that it became one of the most common lei flowers in the islands. Its five petals are easy to read even at small sizes, which is why it shows up so often on pendants and rings.

Because it is the flower people meet first, plumeria tends to carry ideas of welcome, warmth and fondness. We cut it on our rings, bracelets and pendants.

Honu

Honu is the Hawaiian green sea turtle. Honu feed along the reefs and come ashore to rest, and they are protected under both state and federal law. People often read the honu as long life, endurance and safe return, since turtles travel long distances and come back to the same beaches.

For some Hawaiian families the honu is an ʻaumakua, a family guardian that takes an animal form. That is a family’s own relationship, not a general meaning, so we describe honu jewelry simply as honouring the turtle and the ocean. Honu is available on our Heirloom Scroll Ring, bracelet and pendant.

Naupaka

Naupaka is a native shrub whose white flowers look like half a blossom, with all the petals on one side. One kind, naupaka kahakai, grows on the beach. Another, naupaka kuahiwi, grows in the mountains.

Hawaiian moʻolelo, or stories, explain the half-flowers. The versions differ, but most tell of two lovers who were not allowed to be together: one went to live by the sea and one in the mountains, and the flowers bloom in halves until they are reunited. Naupaka jewelry is given for love across distance, for couples who have spent time apart, and in remembrance. You can choose it on our Heirloom Scroll Ring.

Hibiscus

The hibiscus is Hawaiʻi’s state flower. The Territory named the hibiscus in 1923 without naming a species; in 1988 the State Legislature chose the native yellow hibiscus, maʻo hau hele (Hibiscus brackenridgei), which is now endangered in the wild. Hawaiʻi has several native hibiscus, as well as the large red and pink garden varieties seen across the islands.

We do not currently cut a hibiscus design. If it matters to you, book a consultation and we will talk it through.

Scroll

Scroll is the flowing, curling line engraving that frames the name on a traditional heirloom bracelet. It comes from Victorian gold jewelry, which Hawaiian royalty wore in the 1860s, and it is the element every heirloom piece shares. It does not stand for one idea so much as for the tradition itself: if you want a piece that reads as classic Hawaiian heirloom jewelry, scroll is the answer. Our guide to Hawaiian heirloom jewelry tells that history.

Scroll is the default on our Heirloom Scroll Bracelet and Heirloom Scroll Ring, and it frames the plain band on the Maile Wedding Band.

Choosing a motif

• For a wedding or engagement: maile or scroll, or naupaka if distance is part of your story.
• For a new baby or a graduate: scroll with their name, or plumeria.
• For someone who loves the ocean: honu.
• In memory of someone: scroll with a name and date, or naupaka.

Motif and engraving work together. A name in our engraving words guide can carry as much meaning as the pattern around it.