At Mallards, we’ve created a new line of Royal Marines jewellery for both women and men. Based on the Royal Marine’s crest, these are detailed and distinctive new pieces, all crafted in the UK from sterling silver.
The Royal Marines
The Corps of the Royal Marines is one of the Navy’s five fighting arms. An elite force, they’re trained in amphibious, arctic and mountainous warfare; and as a member of the Rapid Reaction Forces, the Marines can be deployed at immediate notice, anywhere in the world.
The Royal Marines can trace their history to 1664, when the “Duke of York and Albany’s Maritime Regiment of Foot” was formed. Today, there are over 8,500 personnel serving in the Royal Marines, including women. The Corps is famous for its demanding recruitment and training regimes, hence the phrase, “It’s like training for the Marines” to describe something challenging.
To celebrate this incredible body of men and women, we have designed and made a new range of sterling silver jewellery, based on the Royal Marines crest.
The Heraldic Crest of the Royal Marines
Each element of the intricate design represents a period or role in the Corps’ long history. At the centre of the crest is the globe, representing the Corps’ service all over the world. This was chosen by King George IV in 1827. George III had already awarded them the lion and crown symbols 25 years earlier, conferring Royal status on the regiment. The anchor goes back earlier, dating to 1747, and shows that the Corps is part of the Naval service.
Other elements of the crest are more specific to the Corps’ history. The laurels that flank the globe represent the capture of Belle Isle in 1761. British troops captured the Breton island after a siege during the Seven Years War. Two years later, they handed it back to the French at the Treaty of Paris, when it was exchanged for Menorca.
The word “Gibraltar” simply refers to the Capture of Gibraltar in 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession. After the successful capture, a garrison of English Marines held Gibraltar – which remains a British territory to this day.
The Royal Marines motto, Per Mare Per Terram, is usually shown on a banner below the globe. The Latin phrase means “By land, by sea”, and refers to the amphibious role of the Royal Marines.
Creating Mallards’ Royal Marines Range of Jewellery
The strong shape of the globe and laurels, combined with those delicate little details that we love at Mallards, lend themselves perfectly to jewellery design. We also wanted to celebrate this extraordinary Corps, that has done so much to protect not only its own country, but people around the world.
As we were working to such a small scale, we had to simplify the design slightly and focus more on the shape. The globe has slightly raised details to show the continents, and is flanked by delicate garlands of laurel leaves. At the top, a polished Royal Lion stands above the crown.
Using the same template, we have created Royal Marines cufflinks, a pin, a pair of stud earrings and a pendant. All are crafted from hallmarked sterling silver at our Birmingham workshops, and have matching sterling silver fastenings.
If you have a crest or an emblem that you’d like to see recreated as a piece of bespoke jewellery, please get in touch with us at Mallards. We work with both heritage organisations and private customers to design and make beautiful, original gifts.