Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. jewellery.

1956		‘Charles Raven’ Und. Nights 101: She only had a modest little load of tom.
1970		G.F. Newman Sir, You Bastard 61: What d’you do with the tom and money.
1984		Smiley Culture ‘Cockney Translation’ 🎵 Rope chain and choparita me say cockney call tom.
1999		Observer Rev. 12 Sept. 6: Jewellry is ‘tom.’.
2007		N. ‘Razor’ Smith Raiders 164: He loved a bit of tom, particularly thin, understated gold watches and diamond rings.

2. (S.Afr.) money.

1997

CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 Tom is money, cash, dough, [...] it is passing out of fashion but it can still be heard at lunch when someone may say to you: ‘Can you pay this oke? I’m a bit short of tom today.’.