Dating back to early medieval Europe, coat of arms were used to identify each other in battle. Coat of arms evolved to establish and represent alliance, property ownership, and a specific family or person. Displaying your coat of arms for everyone to see was a public way of showing pride in your family. Colors, symbols, shield shape, animals, and placement all play important roles in creating a coat of arms, since they all have different meanings behind them. Although every country has its own symbolistic meanings, they all share similarities as well.
Rich & Thirsty’s shield—and main brand color— is a deep burgundy, signifying fortitude, or victory. The thick, bordering frame of the shield is a deep navy, which represents loyalty, truth, and strength. The coat of arms has bay leaves in its shield, bordering R&T found in the center. Bay leaves stand for a poet or victor’s laurel. Dating back to Greek mythology times, a victor’s laurel was a laurel wreath, or shrub, which was traditionally used to weave crowns and wreaths. They were used as a symbol of victory, achievement, and success…especially during sporting events. The bay leaves are green, which represents abundance, hope, joy, and loyalty in love.
The four five-point stars located along the points of the inner shield symbolize unity, leadership, and celestial goodness. The co-founders also say these stars represent themselves and their spouses. The stars are white, signifying truth, peace, innocence, and sincerity.
The filigree found bordering the outer shield typically consisted of silver and/or gold and was used as decoration, largely during the 16th-17th century in Europe. Filigree was very popular with metal work and can be found on jewelry, frames, weapons, armor, furniture, etc. Rich & Thirsty’s filigree is found surrounding the shield, consisting of deep burgundy and deep navy colors.
The royal crown, located above the shield, is an emblem of sovereignty, victory, and power. It was used to distinguish the Monarch’s apart during battle, traveling, etc. Rich & Thirsty’s crown of choice is the German Empress’s crown. The crown is said to be made of gold, while detailed with precious stones, such as: rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, etc. Gold symbolizes wisdom, constancy, prudence, and glory. The red rubies represent military strength and warriors while the blue sapphires signify truth, loyalty, and strength. Green emeralds represent joy, abundance, hope and loyalty in love. The clear, or white, diamonds symbolize truth, purity, innocence, and sincerity. The co-founders chose this crown because their ancestry consists mostly of German descent and chose the Empress’s crown over the Emperor’s, well, simply because women are the best.
Griffins can be found mirroring each other on both sides of Rich & Thirsty’s shield. Griffins are large, mythical creatures that have an eagle’s head and a lion’s body. The griffin’s found on Rich & Thirsty’s coat of arms are female, as the female griffins are the only ones to have wings (as they should). These mythical creatures represent bravery and vigilance and are viewed as a symbol of power, courage, and wealth in Greek mythology. Rich & Thirsty designed them gold because they were known as the king of all creatures as well as the guardians of the king’s gold. Gold stands for wisdom, constancy, prudence, and glory. Their tongues and talons are red, symbolizing military strength and warriors.
The griffins on Rich & Thirsty’s shield are holding a silver metal chalice, or cup, with precious stones such as: rubies, sapphires, and emeralds—all surrounded by gold leaf detailing. The chalice symbolizes religious freedom and openness to participation by all. The chalice is also a fun play in Rich & Thirty’s coat of arms since the brand itself sells glassware. While the precious gemstones symbolize the same meaning as mentioned above with the crown, the silver—while being similar to white’s symbolism—stands for purity and truth.
The tiered banner located below the shield, also known as the banner of arms, is another type of flag that could have been used to help identify the enemy or ally in battle. Rich & Thirsty’s banner of arms is complete with their brand name, as well as what year the company was established. The two five-point stars, located on each end of the banner, signifies the co-founder’s shared parents.
Overall, there was a lot of thought, time, and respect that went into creating Rich & Thirsty’s coat of arms. If you’re thinking about creating your own coat of arms, dig into your family history first—your ancestors most likely had one!
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