LooptyHoops Exclusive: Give Peace Hoops A Chance!

If you're looking for a unique take on peace symbol jewelry, we've got just the hoops for you - our limited edition, LooptyHoops exclusive Sterling Silver Peace Hoop Earrings!

The inspiration behind our peace hoops began when Susan Smith, Founder and President of LooptyHoops, was reading Stephen King’s Hearts in Atlantis. The peace symbol plays a large role in this book, and Susan became curious about the history of this iconic image.

Susan learned that the symbol was originally designed by artist and designer Gerard Holthom for the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). He started with the naval semaphore flag signals, and superimposed the signals for N and D (for Nuclear Disarmament). The straight downward line in the center represents D, and the two downward diagonal lines represent N. To complete the design, Holthom ran a circle around the characters to represent total.

Enter Philip Altbach, a 19 year old student who traveled to the UK as a representative from his college at the invitation of the CND. Altbach "stuck a bunch of them in my pocket, these little pins” and brought them back to the national Student Peace Union headquarters in Chicago. He said to his colleagues, “This is really nice. It’s simple, people can draw it, and it has a meaning…” and he finally convinced the Student Peace Union to accept it as their peace symbol. They began printing the symbol on buttons, handing them out, selling them, and the “rest is history.” As a college professor, Altbach will occasionally end a lecture by letting his students know that he first brought the peace symbol to the US. He joked that he doesn’t think they are impressed.

The peace symbol has both a universal and a personal meaning for everyone. For some, it can be used as a rallying cry to bring peace to their country. For others, it can represent a reminder to find peace within yourself.

Susan said that she “was fascinated by the story and this iconic symbol known worldwide. Of course, peace has always been important to many, many people worldwide, but it seems particularly important to young people in crisis-ridden countries around the world. It seems more and more young people are focused on peace. Given that jewelry is my area of expertise, I decided to design a peace hoop so that people can express who they are and what their ideals are through their choice of a hoop earring."

For a transcript of Susan's interview with Philip Altbach, click here.

Take a look at our exclusive Sterling Silver Peace Hoop Earrings today. We hope you'll consider giving them a chance!