A Croix á la Jeanette (from French: “John’s Cross”) is a pendant in the form of a simple Latin cross. The name is derived from the tradition whereby servant girls, usually hired on St. John’s Day, purchased these crosses with their first pay packet. The crosses were usually strung on a black ribbon and worn choker style. Adapted for a tonier clientele by French and English jewelers, it became a mainstay in every woman’s wardrobe beginning c.1840.