Fiona Sterling Swizzle Stick

Retractable drink stirrers, in gold or silver, were all the rage from the 1920’s thru 1950’s. These intricate and articulated swizzle sticks were advertised as versatile jewelry that could be worn on a long necklace, watch chain or hung from a key fob. Their charming function was said to remove or restore effervescence in carbonated drinks: with the prongs extended, they were used to whip or create bubbles in a drink that was going flat.

These functioning baubles even found favor among royalty and celebrities alike: Queen Elizabeth was said to carry one, and Audrey Hepburn was gifted with a monogrammed retractable stirrer to commemorate her breakthrough performance in the 1951 Broadway stage production of Gigi. Audrey's gold swizzle stick from the 1950's was uniquely personalized with a hand-engraved charm and jadeite bead and recently sold through Christie's auction house for 23,750 pounds in September of 2017.