Watch chain

Bead watch chains were a fad among young women in the 1830s and early 1840s. Woven on a bead loom, the chains often bear expressions of friendship, religion, or virtue. This example features two phrases, “If Happiness You Wish to Gain Let Virtue Be Your Guide and Aim” and “Friendship.” It was made by Sarah Dodge for her fiancé, George H. Westcott (1810–1877), a jeweler in Providence, Rhode Island; they were married in 1834.