The world of military sweetheart collecting is filled with almost an endless array of items to collect. The soldiers, sailors, Army Air Force and Marines had lots off jewelry to choose from to send to their sweetheart. Some of the earliest sweethearts date to the civil war for the US collector and the Boer War for the UK collector. Most of these early pieces are photo brooches, lockets or button brooches. Uniform buttons were some of the very first mementos that women wore to signify that their sweetheart was serving his country. They were easily converted into brooches and lockets. The buttons usually had the branch of service on them and if you were lucky possibly a unit crest. By World War II is was pretty common to convert uniform buttons for earrings.

This is a pair of World War II Royal Air Force button earrings. The buttons have brass screw backs welded onto them with a lead. Any serviceman could have a pair made or make them himself and send them home. Buttons also were a readily available source of metal to the serviceman wanting to make a set of earrings or piece of jewelry for his sweetheart. The insignia on the button was frequently cut out and mounted on some other material to make jewelry.

This set is Royal Australian Air Force. It was made on Perspex (the windscreens from airplanes) and uniform buttons were cut out and glued on. Then the Perspex was reverse painted with blue paint to make a stunning set. The aircraftsman that made this set was very skilled at carving, evidenced by the tiny earrings he made. They are the very small and the detail is superb.  They are tiny wings with the crown and pathfinder eagle mounted on them which was cut out from a uniform collar button.

Sweetheart earrings are fairly easy to date. Early in the war, metal was not so scarce. Earrings were made of sterling, gold or cast brass and of heavy construction. These three examples show fine workmanship, sturdy construction and fine detail. The RAF VR (Royal Air force Volunteer Reserve) are cast brass with guilding. The bomber earrings are cast brass with baked enamel highlights. The US Army Sgt chevron pin and earring set is 12K gold plated.  These all date from early in World War II.

As the World War II progressed, metal became more and more scarce. Jewelry manufacturers started to employ plastic as an alternative material and started stamping the metal pieces as thinly as possible.

This set of Army Air Force earrings are wonderful examples of this. The front insignia is actually sterling silver but it is stamped so thinly that you could easily break any part of it off. The screw backs are made entirely of plastic. The US Army earrings next to them have plastic slider backs that are "U" shaped. My mom was a young woman during the war and said she disliked these because they broke so easily. The US Army insignia is thinly stamped brass mounted on a white plastic disk.

Toward the end of the war most everything was in sort supply. Metal was simply not to be wasted on jewelry when the allied troops needed it to win the war. Jewelry manufacturers started making earring completely out of plastic. Pictured below are: US Army Air Force B-29 bomber plastic disk with plastic slider back earrings, USN blue pierced plastic with plastic slider back earrings and USA Son In Service single star plastic hearts with plastic screw back earrings.

The earrings that are completely made of plastic are more difficult to find as many of them were broken  (probably by my mom) and discarded. 

Despite the hardships of the war, the manufacturers kept up the spirits of the homefront by adapting to the shortages.   The challenges they faced in constructing the earrings resulted in a whimsical array that should please the tastes of most sweetheart collectors.  

I look for good sets without damage.  Despite what many sellers say, it is not easy to fix vintage jewelry of any kind.  I have never found a jeweler who can fix chipped or missing enamel.  The only way to fix a missing back or broken front would be to find another vintage earring to use parts from or find a replacement earring.  I did manage to do this with one set of my earrings, but it took me 4 years to find the replacement earring.  Also make sure that the earrings match.  I did get one set of USN earrings where one was brass and one was sterling.  The photo looked like both were sterling.  I should have asked the seller if both were marked!  It was an honest mistake on the sellers part and mine.  I frequently request a photo of the back side of the earrings to see what the condition is or ask for close-ups.  Sometimes earrings are very difficult to photograph and flashes of light can look like chips.  Ask lots of questions if you find a pair you like. 

A makers mark, if there is one, will usually be found on the back side of the insignia. I have a large collection of sweetheart earrings and few have makers marks. If you are looking for a sterling mark it is usually found on the back of the circular part of the screw back. If you have a pair of gold plated or gold washed earrings I would be extremely careful in cleaning them. Sometimes the gold is so thin that it can easily be polished completely off the earrings. It is always up to the collector if you polish or do not polish your jewelry. I use a metal polish called Simichrome. It is, in my humble opinion, one of the best on the market. For extremely dirty enamel inlay I use a Swiss cleaner called Kuhn Rikon. You can probably find it in high end kitchen stores or on eBay. It is used for cleaning enamel pots like Le Creuset. I put a little on an old tooth bush, and gently scrub the enamel and then rinse it with warm water.  Being gentle and cautious Is always the best course of action. Good old soap and water can work wonders too if you are nervous about polish.  If you are not sure of the material, get a precious metal testing kit and find out for sure.

If you are interested in starting to collect this branch of sweethearts I would suggest starting with the Navy.  They seem to be more USN earrings on the market than any other, followed closely by AAF.  The more specific branches of the service will be harder to find but do not despair.  I have US Chemical Corps, Tiny slouch hats that are Australian Army and USN Aerographer's Mate earrings.   None of them were easy finds, but they are out there.  They are worth the wait and fun to collect.