Every year around Valentine’s Day, like clockwork, women take to social media to implore men to steer clear of heart-shaped jewelry. Despite good intentions, love-themed jewelry tends to sit somewhere on the spectrum from on-the-nose to outright gaudy. But one old-school token of love—the qu’hier que demain pendant—is a much subtler option for the lovestruck.
While the charm can take on a variety of iterations, it is always inscribed “+ Qu’hier – Que Demain,” most often inside of a gold circular pendant with a diamond-encrusted plus sign and a ruby minus sign. The phrase comes from the 1889 poem “L’éternelle chanson,” or “The Eternal Song,” by Rosemonde Gérard. In one stanza she wrote: “Car, vois-tu, chaque jour je t’aime davantage, Aujourd’hui plus qu’hier et bien moins que demain,” which translates to, “For you see, each day I love you more, today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.”
“This style of jewelry was popularized in 1907 when a French jeweler by the name of Alphonse Augis took inspiration from this poem and distilled it down to ‘+ Qu’hier – Que Demain’ to create the first version of the famous love token charms,” says Alexis Nido-Russo, founder of jewelry brand Local Eclectic, which sells a pendant inscribed with the phrase.
The slight ambiguity of “more than yesterday, less than tomorrow” allows for the necklace to be worn as a stealthy proclamation of love—more subtle than, say, heart-shaped diamonds. So it comes as no surprise that it fits right into Sofia Richie Grainge’s sleek, timeless wardrobe. The newlywed flashed the necklace during a getting ready TikTok last June, sparking a newfound interest in the previously under-the-radar pendant.
“This summer a friend sent me a message asking if I could identify a necklace that Sofia Richie was wearing in a get ready with me video she had posted on TikTok. I immediately recognized it as a + Qu’hier – Que Demain coin charm,” Nido-Russo says.
Richie Grainge’s endorsement of the necklace gave it an instant boost in popularity, so much so that it inspired Nido-Russo to launch a line for Local Eclectic’s in-house brand, Family Gold, which will launch December 1. “I made a video on TikTok talking about the necklace, and was overwhelmed by the positive response and commenters asking us to make a similar, more affordable option. I was familiar with this design, but it’s not a style you see often so this set the ball in motion,” she says. She will offer the motif in the traditional coin, as well as a heart-shaped pendant and signet ring.
Local Eclectic isn’t the only brand to offer the sentimental pendant. Charmco and Susan Saffron both offer their own interpretations, while secondhand markets like Etsy and 1stDibs also have a surplus. Nido-Russo found her own in a Paris flea market. So, for anyone planning ahead for Valentine’s Day this year, consider expressing your love in a more poetic way.