Vintage Celebrity Jewelery: The Jewelry of J. Edgar Hoover

FBI Badge, circa 1935. Photo Credit: Greater Cincinnati Police Museum.   The year is 1924, and the jewel in question is a gift from Annie to her son, J. Edgar Hoover. It is a "small star sapphire ring." {1} According to Clint Eastwood's film, J. Edgar, the ring was made from platinum and set with six diamonds and a star sapphire. Upon J. Edgar's death, on this day in 1972, Mr. Hoover bequeathed the ring and two cuff links to John Edgar Nichols, son of Mr. Hoover's faithful publicist, Louis Nichols. Mr. Hoover also willed his platinum watch with a white gold wristband to his other namesake, John Edgar Ruch, son of the FBI Director's first ghostwriter, George Ruch. {2} In pictures of Mr. Hoover, his customary uniform of suit and tie is often minimally ornamented with a few choice of personal ornaments, most distinctly a ring which he wears on his left ring finger, a watch and/or bracelet he wears most frequently on his left wrist, and on at least one occasion a small lapel pin. Unseen in the photographs would be the conventional cuff links, likely FBI issue, though he may have had a few personalized pairs. His biographers credit it him with affection and generosity, reporting that he often bought jewelry for his mother. However, there is scant record of which jewelers he favored, though several reports indicate that he was friends with Paul Flato, renowned "Jeweler to the Stars". It is likely that the lapel pin was associated with one of the many fraternal organizations he belonged to, either the Shriners, the Masons, or even the FBI. According to public records, the declared value of his personal property at the time of his death, including jewelry, books, antiques, and other household effects, was at minimum $70,000, with some indications that this was a very low estimate. While the trail on his personal jewelry seems to dry up at this point, there is one piece of ornamentation that J. Edgar Hoover had with him at all times--his FBI badge. His first would have been issued in 1917. The pattern for this initial badge was a miniature ornate shield, branded "US" in the center, which was encircled by a banner reading "Bureau of Investigation/Justice Department". In May 1927, three years after Mr. Hoover was promoted to Director of the Bureau, a new badge style was issued. This one featured a flat miniature shield crested by an eagle. In the center of the shield, between the branded letters "U" and "S", Lady Justice (the blindfolded Greek goddess Dike) holds the scales of justice and her double-edged sword, symbolizing the power of reason and justice. In banner style, the words "Bureau of Investigation" and "Department of Justice" border the edges. After the 1927 issuance, two different variations of this badge style were adopted. In 1934, they increased the size of the badge and cast it with a slight curvature. And, in 1935, the present style was adopted which demonstrates a more androgynous Lady/Lord Justice. The curvature of the badge is more pronounced, and the banner now reads "Federal Bureau of Investigation", reflecting the final name change for the agency. The first 1000 of these badges were manufactured in Attleboro, Massachusetts by the Robbins Company. Numbered 1 to 1000, these first official FBI badges are still in circulation. When retiring agents turn them in they are typically reissued to new agents. However, one of these original FBI badges will not find its way in the hands of a rookie agent. Badge No. 1, issued in 1935 to first-in-command, Director J. Edgar Hoover, will soon take its place among over 2,000 items from the late Director's estate at the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, DC. Scheduled to open in 2015, the museum promises to "tell the story of Director Hoover and the FBI like no one has been able to tell it before." {cited} ~Angela Magnotti Andrews   Notes 1. Gentry, Curt. J. Edgar Hoover. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Ltd., 1991. 2. Ibid.