The Grenade
War. Soldiers in trenches. Grime. Horror. Body parts. Bam. Pow.
Crash. The world is collapsing. It’s all over. The end is in sight.
That buddy of yours with whom you had been playing cards with last
week is gasping for air through the hole in his chest. Explosions fill
the air. The terrain is dense with enemy soldiers. You pull out a
weapon shaped a bit like the pomegranate from which this weapon
derived its name. It’s a grenade…designed for short range fighting
from the trenches. You throw it. Screams of agony fill the air. You
are a member of the British Royal Fusiliers. You are fighting for
your life…as is–parenthetically --your enemy.
I ask you this my friends. Is there a topic or an item to which one
will not lend oneself when in the process of creating jewelry? Nay
nay ol’ buddies. There ain’t no such item. The hand grenade is one
example. I have a graphic of a diamond hand grenade brooch–year of
manufacture is not given–which was designed as a Diamond Royal
Fusiliers Brooch.
While the grenade can trace its history back to the 15th century…it
came into prominence during World War One. That said…I give you
some salient facts. The year…1914…and a bit thereafter. World War
One breaks out. Jack Johnson…a black boxer…successfully defends
his heavyweight title. In Cleveland Ohio, motorists obey the first
traffic signal installed in the United States. Edgar Rice Burroughs
creates a new folk hero named Tarzan. Tar-zan…for those who don’t
know…means white skin in gorilla talk. See what you learn when you
read Tidbits. And shortly thereafter…Cartier creates the diamond
grenade. Whoopee!
Is there a punch line to this folks. Nope. But it does stimulate the
imagination. Let’s have a contest for the most original use to which
one can put a piece of jewelry. How about a body part my friends. A
dismembered arm perhaps…belonging to a long dead soldier. Made out
of gold of course. We could call it “The Golden Arm Without The Man.”
Move over Fleming…you got competition. Anyone want to join in? Just
for kicks? A bayonet perhaps…the steel blade studded with rubies
symbolizing the blood of an enemy. Yeahhh. I like that. Come one…
come all…create your jewels for the millennia…and submit them to
Tyler-Adam Corp. And who said the macabre didn’t have a place in the
Society of Jewels? Not me…that’s for sure.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the table menu till you get to the box that says
Tidbits…and inside the box where it says Tidbit Graphics…click on
the link that says: Grenade…where you will see the graphic of the
Royal Fusiliers Brooch.
And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks. Catch you all next
week. Benjamin Mark
TYLER-ADAM CORP.–Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel: 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail to: webmaster@tyler-adam.com