Vintage OroAmerica Solid 14K Two Tone Gold Crucifix Cross Jesus INRI Pendant

Vintage OroAmerica solid 14K two tone gold crucifix pendant made in Italy, marked 14KT and ITALY with the OR heart maker's mark on the bail. The cross is yellow gold with rounded tubular arms that flatten into smooth spatulate tips rather than ending square, and the corpus is white gold applied in relief against it, which is what makes the figure read at a distance instead of disappearing into the surface. Above the head sits a separate raised banner block lettered INRI. The reverse is plain and smooth, carrying the shape of the cross without ornament.

Worth knowing the difference, since both words get used loosely: a cross is the bare form, while a crucifix carries the corpus, the figure of Christ. This is a crucifix. OroAmerica was founded in 1977 in Burbank, California and built its entire identity around that heart stamp, filing THE CHAIN WITH THE HEART as a trademark in March 1981 and later registering the phrase LOOK FOR THE ORIGINAL OR HEART TRADEMARK in 1990, a campaign telling buyers to check the mark before buying. The company grew into one of the largest gold jewelry suppliers in the United States, sourcing Italian manufacture like this piece, and was eventually absorbed into Berkshire Hathaway's Richline Group.

Approximately 1.25 inch tall, or 1.5 inch including the bail. The scale suits a man's chain or a woman's longer chain equally, and the open jump ring takes a heavier link than a fixed bail would.

Details:
Maker: OroAmerica
Metal: Solid 14K Two Tone Gold
Cross: Yellow Gold
Corpus: White Gold
Origin: Italy
Hallmarks: 14KT, ITALY, OR heart maker's mark
Motif: Crucifix with INRI Titulus
Length: 1.25 Inch
Length with Bail: 1.5 Inch
Condition: Excellent estate condition

Fun Facts:
OroAmerica started in Burbank, California in 1977 and became one of the largest gold jewelry suppliers in the country, but the detail collectors care about is the stamp. The company trademarked the slogan THE CHAIN WITH THE HEART in 1981 and then, in 1990, registered the phrase LOOK FOR THE ORIGINAL OR HEART TRADEMARK, effectively running a public campaign teaching buyers to authenticate gold by spotting that heart. The brand was later folded into Berkshire Hathaway's Richline Group, which makes the heart mark a closed chapter of American gold manufacturing rather than a logo still in production.
INRI is an abbreviation of the Latin Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum, meaning Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews. It represents the titulus, the placard Pontius Pilate ordered fixed above the cross stating the charge. The Gospel of John records that it was written in three languages at once, Hebrew, Latin and Greek, so that everyone passing could read it. Western art settled on the Latin initials, which is why four letters on a banner have stood in for that whole scene for roughly fifteen hundred years.