Victorian jewellery

Victorian jewellery originated in

The role of

Jewellery throughout the Victorian era remains prominent for its design and composition. The production of jewellery throughout the Victorian era was distinct, as it marked change and innovative practices through the use of new machinery.^[3] Machinery allowed fast production of jewellery and replaced work that could be done by an individual. The collection of jewellery created throughout the Victorian era was diverse, for this reason Victorian jewellery can be divided into three distinct periods: The Romantic period, the Grand period and the Aesthetic Period. Each period consists of key features. These features consisted of different sources of inspiration, different materials and prominent types of jewellery.

The Romantic period (1837-1861)

The first period in Victorian jewellery is known as the Romantic period or early Victorian period.^[4] During this period, inspiration derived from the Renaissance, Middle Ages and the natural world.^[4] This period saw a rise in the use of gold material,^[4] which contributed to the construction of jewellery.

Key features in this period consisted of:

• Themes: The natural world inspired motifs such as serpents and lotus flowers,^[4] snakes, serpents, trees and birds.^[5]
• Materials: Common materials used were gold, seed pearls, ivory, tortoiseshell, coral, onyx, agate, diamonds,^[4] amber, amethyst, emerald and quartz.^[6]
• Common jewellery worn: Rings and brooches, bracelets and cameos.^[4]

The Grand period (1861- 1885)

The second period in Victorian jewellery is known as the Grand period or the mid-Victorian period.^[4] This period saw a sharp change in design from delicate to bold which paralleled the changing social roles and representation of women at the time.^[4] During this period, imitations of jewellery were prominent and costume jewellery originated.^[4] This period witnessed the emergence of women in business and politics and saw women demanding to study at university, the right to vote and to earn their own money.^[4]

Key features in this period consisted of:

• Themes: Insects such as flies, butterflies, dragonflies and beetles.^[4]
• Materials: Gold was used to create a ‘soft’ look, colourless stones, silver, jet, ivory and pearls.^[4]
• Common jewellery worn: Earrings, brooches, bracelets, necklaces for outings during the night and lockets as casual daywear.^[4]

The death of

The third period in Victorian jewellery is known as the Aesthetic period or the late Victorian period.^[4] During this period, there was a distinct change in how women wore jewellery. This period encouraged the agency of women in society, with women’s rise to power with the creation of their own political organisations.^[4] This change encouraged freedom of thought and less of a desire to be seen as feminine. Due to this, significantly less jewellery was purchased with women only choosing to wear jewellery on special occasions, and little jewellery being worn casually throughout the day.^[4]

Key features in this period consisted of:

• Themes: the return of the romantic style such as soft and natural colours, butterflies and roses.^[4]
• Materials: amethysts, emeralds and opals.^[4]
• Common jewellery worn: small and simple broaches, earrings, the use of bracelets almost disappeared.^[4]

During this era, Queen Victoria also continued to inspire the wearing of mourning jewellery (see Victorian jewellery § Mourning jewellery).

Hair jewellery

Hair jewellery associated with Queen Victoria is very collectible - recent pieces going for tens of thousands of pounds at auction.[10]

Mourning jewellery

The process of

After the death of a beloved, a ritual of mourning applied for grievers. The ritual commenced from the day of the person’s death until at least one year after the death of the person.^[3] During this time grievers were not permitted to wear shiny or reflective materials and must be entirely dressed in black, this was inclusive of clothes and jewellery.^[3] In contrast, the second year of mourning permitted grievers to wear more subdued colours such as white or colourless materials, pearls and diamonds.^[3]

Wearing mourning jewellery displayed the strong connection between a beloved and the deceased person. For this reason, the Victorian mourning period saw the development of personalised jewellery that were used as momentos.^[3] Mourning jewellery often displayed initials or the names of the deceased and their date of death which were engraved into the jewellery in remembrance of the departed.^[3] A mourning ring for the author Charlotte Brontë, for instance, was rediscovered in 2019 - it was inscribed with her name and death date (March 1855), and held a braid of her hair behind a locked panel.^[12]

The symbol of eyes had a powerful significance in mourning jewellery.^[3] A single eye was often included in jewellery such as brooches.^[3] An eye signified a spiritual presence of the departed with the person who wore the jewellery, in this way the departed could watch over the person who was wearing the jewellery. Another element often incorporated into jewellery were pearls which represented tear drops.^[3] The fashion of mourning jewellery gradually declined in 1901 following the death of Queen Victoria.^[9]

Throughout the mourning period, there were two main materials that became frequently sourced in jewellery. In order to keep up with the demand for these materials sourced in mourning jewellery, imitations of these materials were discovered.^[9] Some of these imitations include hardened rubber also known as “french jet”, black enamel and black glass.^[9] The two main materials used to create mourning jewellery consisted of jet and black onyx jewels.^[9][11]

Jet jewels

Throughout the mid nineteenth century, jet was a material that was much sought after due to its use in mourning jewellery. Due to large demand for jet, in

Black onyx was also commonly used to make mourning jewellery. Black onyx otherwise known as black-dyed chalcedony, was a material mostly used in constructing cameos and was used in beadwork.^[3][9]

References