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VICTORIAN JEWELRY 1837 to 1901
Victorian jewelry
is as complex in it's symbolism, sentiment and design as the
fashion, architecture and decor of the time. Worn as an ornament, a love
token or a remembrance, jewelry not only completed the well-dressed
lady's costume but also denoted her position in society, her marital
status and her sense of self.
Since the Victorian era stretched over six decades, many types of jewelry
came and went in style. Mass production made jewelry available to the
widest number of buyers in the broadest range of designs ever seen before
in history. When it came to formal occasions, the "more is better" theme
of the Victorian era carried over into how jewelry was worn by royalty and
the aristocracy. Paintings of Queen Victoria and other royals at state
occasions show multiple brooches, swags, earrings, bracelets and hair
ornaments. But the jewelry of the everyday folk is collectible,
fascinating and a lesson in history that enchants us even today.
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| HAIR JEWELRY & MOURNING JEWELRY Whether fashioned
in the home as a lady's craft or professionally by a hair weaver or a jewelry maker, hair
jewelry was the height of the romanticism and sentiment that characterized
the Victorian era. Some pieces were done as mourning pieces or "momento mori"
("remember you must die"). While some may find this morbid, for
the Victorians death was a common and accepted part of everyday life
especially due to
the higher infant mortality rate and the devastation of the Civil War.
Hair jewelry was not always mourning jewelry, however, as it was also
crafted as love tokens from sweethearts, family members and cherished
friends. Rings might be engraved with loving messages and memorials
either on the face or inside the band, and might also have hidden
compartments for the hair. Brooches came in all sizes from the
daintiest lace pin to a larger 3" oval meant to be worn at the neck. Watch
chains and bracelets often show the most ingenious hair weaving techniques with more
than one color of hair often used, as perhaps a chain given by three
daughters to their father.
Black was the color of mourning, and jet, gutta percha and molded horn
were fashioned into socially accepted mourning jewelry. Black enameling was
a frequent element, as well as seed pearls accents
denoting tears, and flowers which carried a message, the
most obvious of which is the forget-me-not.
Valued
among collectors are engraved pieces, especially if dated; well-crafted
intricate pieces with unusual motifs; and pieces that might include
photographs or hand-painted portraits along with the encased lock of hair. As with all jewelry, condition is important with these delicate
treasures. Hair jewelry is difficult to effectively repair, so pieces in
excellent condition command a premium.
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VICTORIAN HAIR bracelet with a purple stone in the clasp. Four colors
of hair made up this bracelet, and was probably made by four daughters for
their mother. It is 7" long and 1-1/4" wide. #V1957 |
MEMORIAL hair ring
with pearl surround and blonde hair. Size 7-1/4 and engraved, " Joseph
Dixon died 16th Jan.y 1815 aged 50".
Engraving #V15165 |
VICTORIAN gold and
enameled 1-7/8" hair brooch with "In Memory Of" encircling frame, engraved on back:
Ms Buchannan
died 12th Nov 1843
John Wilson died 4th June 1843
Engraving
Size 1-7/8" by 1-1/2". |
VICTORIAN
chalcedony, enamel and turquoise brooch with forget-me-not motif, 2".
View
View
#V14952 |
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PORTRAIT PENDANT This 2-3/4" hand painted portrait circa 1840 also has
a lock of hair
on the back.
View #V3810 |
HAND
BROOCHES These are mother-of-pearl and molded horn mourning brooches.
The top is
2-7/8" hand holding a sheaf of wheat and wreath of roses; middle is 2",
bottom is 1-3/4".
View
View |
VICTORIAN hair ring with
shield front, size 9-1/4. #V21550 |
VICTORIAN hair watch
fob with crystal barrel.
View #V4399 |
| CAMEO JEWELRY
What is more classic and timeless than a cameo? Though they long pre-date the
Victorian era, for Victorians who loved travel, a cameo might represent a meaningful souvenir of a Grand European Tour.
Both men and women worn cameos set as necklaces, brooch, rings and earrings
for women, and watch fobs, rings and stick pins for men. The Victorian
fascination with all things historic is demonstrated in the classical Greek
profiles and mythological motifs. Reflecting the Victorians love of
gardening and nature, floral cameos were also popular. Carved in seashell,
ivory, lava or stone, cameos could be set in precious or non-precious
metals. Although thought of as primarily an Italian art, there were also
cameo carvers in America and other countries.
Quality and beauty of carving is the prime factor determining value,
but cameos set in precious metal ornamented with diamonds, seed pearls or
enameling are most desirable. Check condition by holding the cameo up to the
light to detect possible cracks.
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CAMEOS are such
classic beauties. This one has tiny pink enameled butterflies on the
corners of the filigree frame.
View #U14728
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CAMEO This
three-quarter profile cameo is very deeply carved and the lady's hair is
fashioned
of rose blossoms!
View
#U20324 |
CAMEO of a
lovely lady wearing a necklace and flowers.
#Uagnes1 |
CAMEO 14k cameo brooch in
enameled butterfly filigree setting, 1-7/8".
View
View #U23999 |
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CAMEO with lovely seed
pearls surrounding the 14 karat setting. #U4001 |
CAMEO in 14 karat
twist setting... she has an anchor motif at her shoulder and a star in her
hair.
#Uagnes2 |
FLORAL bouquet cameo in
a 14 karat setting.
View
#U20323 |
| SOUVENIR, HISTORIC & NOVELTY JEWELRY
Colorful souvenir jewelry was purchased on Victorian travels.
Italian mosaics and pietra dura pieces were popular for decades, and can
still be purchased today. Older mosaic pieces tend to be more intricate and
well-made, and done in softer colors with greater detail. Travel souvenir pieces
were also made of Scottish "pebbles", seashells, bog oak, and other
materials typical of their area of manufacture.
Historically inspired jewelry was prompted by the study of ancient
Pompeii, Egypt, Greece and Rome, and the motifs included designs from wall
paintings and excavated jewelry. Heavier
Renaissance and Medieval style jewelry combined well with the heavier
Victorian fashions as well, and later in the century, Oriental motifs
provided further inspiration.
Plant collecting was a passionate Victorian hobby, and natural motifs
were also reflected in jewelry. Amazing novelty jewelry was made of
everything from small real birds to beetles and other insects. Novel also
was the way in which Victorians viewed this type of adornment. What we today
might think grotesque they saw as innovative, and reflective of their
interest in nature, science and leisure activities.
Jewelry could also be mechanically innovative, with moving parts and
trembling portions to attract the eye.
Advertising jewelry is rare, and one of the most unusual pieces of Victorian jewelry is this
advertising bracelet, evidentially promoting a Victorian era London clothier.
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VICTORIAN 7" by 1" agate bracelet with an engraved plaque that
says, "AR Clothier. 111 London. Rd. Chippenham. WRCD 47/2". View
View
View
View #23382 |
Very unusual advertising bracelet. |
PIETRA DURA floral
brooch. |
ITALIAN MOSAIC floral 1" round pin in soft pastel colors.
View #Y18684 |
| PORTRAIT JEWELRY
In the days before photography, a hand-painted portrait miniature was a
desirable keepsake or love token. While some of these miniature art works
were done of actual people including both royalty and everyday folks, others were painted of mythological
characters and fictional lovely ladies. Mother-of-pearl, ivory and vellum were
often used as paint surfaces. Settings range from the simplest rolled gold
twist frame brooch to gem encrusted wonders. Artists who did portrait
miniatures were called "limners", and they did not only pieces for jewelry,
but also work meant to be framed for display, often in lacquered wood or
ivory embellished frames. Some traveled from city to city taking
commissions as they went. Portraits could be worn on velvet ribbons around
the neck, as brooches, rings and bracelets, and in lockets. Even men
occasionally worn portraits suspended around the neck under their shirts.
Collectors prefer artist-signed pieces, lovely
ladies and children, and identifiable individuals. Portraits that combine
enclosures for hair or include an engraved notation are also sought after.
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VICTORIAN lady
wearing a portrait brooch, cut steel buttons and diamond earrings. Cabinet
card size 4-1/4" by 6-1/2", marked "J. O. Herbert, Grand Rapids, Wis." |
VICTORIAN lady wearing a portrait brooch. |
VICTORIAN lady
wearing a portrait brooch and a watch chain with a ring as an ornament.
Cabinet card size 4-1/4" by 6-1/2" marked on the front "Younge, Over
Glenn's, Franklin Square, Utica, NY".
View |
VICTORIAN lady
wearing a portrait brooch and watch chain. Cabinet Card size 4-1/4" by
6-1/2" marked "Jacoby, Minneapolis" on the front. |
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PORTRAIT PIECES This 2-3/4" hand painted portrait circa 1840 also has
a lock of hair on the back.
View #V3810 |
PORTRAIT 2-1/8" brooch
hand painted on porcelain in a twisted gold tone setting.
View #V23717 |
PORTRAIT BROOCH set in
mother-of-pearl 1-5/8 inch brooch.
View #V16362 |
VICTORIAN
portrait brooch, 2-1/2". This lady dressed in plum is delicately hand
painted on a porcelain disk set into a twisted gold filled setting. Notice
the detail of the feather in her hat.
View #V22943 |
| PHOTO JEWELRY
Photography was an invention of the Victorian era, and photographic
jewelry represented a permanent way to document beloved friends and family.
Since the opportunity to be photographed was not as prevalent as it is now,
a photo was a precious thing. Worn as brooches, cufflinks and pendants, these faces from the past were
most often mounted in non-precious metals under crystal or celluloid covers
for protection.
Collectors especially appreciate pictures of lovely women and
children, Civil War soldiers and subjects wearing interesting clothing or
jewelry. Here again, the addition of engraving, especially dates and love
messages, makes the piece more interesting.
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Great Aunt Mary and my Grandmother Agnes as young girls,
circa 1890's. View |
My very bearded great great grandfather, circa
1870. View
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My favorite Aunt Sissie, circa 1900.
View |
Photo brooch of three of my Victorian-era uncles.
View |
| CUFFLINKS
The photos of these two unidentified gentlemen
were
made into cuff links.
View |
VICTORIAN 1-3/4 inch
hair and photo memorial swivel brooch. Now this is the original odd
couple, and I love these unusual ones! The back compartment contains
very blond hair.
VIEW #V18650
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PHOTO graduate photo pin.
#V16426 |
| LORGNETTES, LONG CHAINS & COLLECTIONS
Well-dressed ladies wore "long chains", sometimes looped and caught on the
bodice with a brooch, sometimes worn full length, and often holding a
lorgnette or watch. Chains were made in both precious and non-precious
metals, and could be extremely simple or ornamented with stones and seed
pearls. Some had slides, which have become collectible in their own right.
Today's collectors create bracelets from them, as well as from fobs, button
covers and cuff link tops.
The lorgnettes in sterling and karat gold, those with lovely enameling or
gem stones, and those with a strong design sense (for example Art Nouveau or
Arts & Crafts) are most desirable. Some
collectors have their own prescription mounted into an old lorgnette so that
they are actually useable.
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Could she wear more jewelry?
Multiple bracelets and rings are shown to their best advantage by her pose,
including a bracelet of polished agate stones.
View |
Corset stays made this wasp-waisted dress possible, and the draping
watch chain highlights her small waist. |
In addition to her decorative belt buckle, this lady wears a
long chain and hair earrings made in the shape of acorns. |
Her long chain probably held a lorgnette at the end. |
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Lorgnette of
gold washed silver with enameling, semi-precious stones and pearls, 5-1/2" by
1-1/4". Tiny mark "800" on the glasses hinge. Circa 1900.
View
View
View
View
#L13478 |
UNGER
sterling lady face lorgnette, 4-3/4" by 1-1/2".
View
View
#L14745 |
LORGNETTE sterling Art Nouveau Iris motif, 5" by 1-1/4".
View
View #L20909 |
LORGNETTE
sterling with flower motif, 5-1/3" by 1-1/4".
View
View
#L4619 |
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VICTORIAN gold
tone bracelet with watch fobs as charms.
View
#V17891 |
BRACELET made of
turn-of-the-century cuff link covers.
View
View
View
#V18690 |
VICTORIAN
gold tone bracelet with crystal fobs as charms. #V10721 |
VICTORIAN gold tone bracelet with watch fobs as charms.
View
#V22040 |
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BLACK JEWELRY
During the Victorian period, from about 1860 to 1880, mourning jewelry was
the height of fashion and black was a stylish color. Made of jet, vulcanite,
bog oak or pressed horn, each carried special
meaning as a memento of a loved one. A brooch in the shape of a hand
carrying a bouquet conveyed a message symbolized by the flowers. Photos
might be housed inside lockets and watch fobs, and portraits hand painted on
pendants and earrings. While some black jewelry was meant to be worn
during mourning, black jewelry was fashionable as well, and worn for its
beauty and sentiment.
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VICTORIAN lady wearing jet
mourning beads with her fancy hat laying on the table top before her. Carte
de viste size 2-1/2" by 4", marked on the back, "J. Raine, Portrait &
Landscape Photographer, Richmond, Yorkshire" with a roses and trellis
design. |
VICTORIAN
lady wearing a portrait pendant set in jet on a black neck ribbon and a bog
oak oval brooch at her neckline. Carte de viste size 2-1/2" by 4-1/4",
marked "R.P. Skeolan, Harrogate" on the front and "miniature painter" on the
back.
View |
VICTORIAN lady
wearing a vulcanite hand brooch on her lacy necklace and faceted jet
bracelet on her arm. Carte de viste size 2-1/2" by 4-1/8", marked W.J.
Wellsted & Son, 19 & 20 Paragon St, Hull on both front and back, and
"Photographers of the Prince & Princess of Wales" along with "Copies can
be had at any time or an enlargement finished in oil or watercolors" on
the back. Back also has a birds and bamboo design.
View |
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VICTORIAN vulcanite hand
holding rose for love brooch, 1-7/8".
View #V25194 |
VICTORIAN jet pendant with
painted lady portrait, 2".
View #V25926 |
VICTORIAN vulcanite hand
holding single flower pin, 1-3/4".
View #V25276 |
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VICTORIAN vulcanite
hand brooch, 2-7/8", holding roses and forget-me-nots wreath laurel
sheaf symbolizing love victorious. Hallmarked on the back.
View
View #V8502 |
VICTORIAN vulcanite
hand holding fan pin, 2-1/3". Fans often referred to a
flirtation.
View
View #V25190 |
VICTORIAN
2" vulcanite hand brooch holding sheaf and wreath of roses, symbolic
of hope
and love.
View #V13204 |
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VICTORIAN vulcanite
hand with lacy cuff holding basket pin, 2-1/3".
View #V25280 |
VICTORIAN
hand holding basket of fruit brooch, 3".
View #V25880 |
VICTORIAN vulcanite
hand with fluted cuff holding basket pin, 2-1/4".
View #V25279 |
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VICTORIAN lady wearing strands
of jet beads. Carte de viste size 2-1/2" by 4", marked on the front
"Chancellor, Dublin" and on the back, "Patronized by TRH The Prince &
Princess of Wales; HRH Prince Arthur; HRH The Duke of Cambridge; HSH Prince
Teck" and more famous people, as well as the address, :55 Lower Sackville
Street, Dublin" and instructions for obtaining other images. View |
VICTORIAN lady
wearing jet portrait locket on a black velvet ribbon and matching earrings. Carte
de viste size 4-1/8" by 2-1/2", marked "Inskip Photo, The Cliff, Scarboro"
with a Masonic emblem on the back.
View |
VICTORIAN lady
wearing elaborate jet necklace and brooch. Carte de viste marked "March
1874" in pencil and "F. G. Earl, Photographic Artist, Worcester &
Malvern".
View |
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VICTORIAN vulcanite
locket with fuchsia flowers, 4 photo compartments, 2-1/8".
View #V25284 |
VICTORIAN vulcanite 2" locket on 4-1/2" of chain.
View
View #V25357 |
VICTORIAN vulcanite
locket in ornate shield motif, 3-1/4".
View #V25285 |
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VICTORIAN
vulcanite oval brooch covered in fuchsia flowers, symbol of humble love, 1-3/4".
View
#V25884 |
VICTORIAN
pressed horn bracelet each piece patterned in diamond shapes, exp by 1" &
1-5/8". View
View #V25877 |
VICTORIAN bog
oak brooch, carved Gothic castle scene, 2"
View #V25881 |
CUT STEEL jewelry and ornaments were popular
throughout the 1800's, and the sparkle of these lovely pieces in candlelight
must have been something to behold. Motifs varied from the simple to the
sublime, with multiple layers and densely packed studs. Designs could be
enhanced by the use of varying sized studs as well. Each stud could have up
to 15 facets, and in general the finer and older the piece the more facets
the studs will have. Made in both England and Europe, this style of jewelry
fell out of favor by the turn of the 19th century.
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Photographs from the Victorian age demonstrate how jewelry was worn, and
how it related to the fashions of the time. Some pieces, like bars pins,
were common accessories and can be found fairly easily today. Others, like
full parures (sets of necklace, bracelet, brooch, earrings and sometimes
ring) are much more difficult to obtain. Old catalogues and jewelry flyers
are a source for dating and identifying jewelry, and can be a collectible
category in their own right.
Whether a family heirloom or a recent find, Victorian
jewelry continues to fascinate collectors and jewelry lovers alike. The
sentiment, history, craftsmanship and whimsy lures new collectors and
historians to this day. Everyday people treasured these wonderful echoes of
the past, and we are fortunate that so many of them have been handed down to
our generation to wear, protect and enjoy.
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Reclining ladies pose at an outdoor picnic wear simple
jewelry, including the often seen bar pins. |
A beautifully hand appliquéd jacket with a ruffle peeking
above the neck, a bar pin and a butterfly ornamenting her hair. |
Bar pins came in many styles and sizes, and were a staple of
the jewelry wardrobe. |
Lockets and lace pins were and are a sentimental
favorite that never go out of style. |
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VICTORIAN 14k bar pin, 2".
It looks like a "nanny" pin, but does not open that I can see.
View #V22953 |
VICTORIAN 9k seed pearl and purple unidentified stone bar pin with
safety, 2".
View #V23373 |
VICTORIAN BAR PIN with red and
blue stones and pearl, 2 1/4" wide. An etched scene adorns the front of this
marvelous piece.
View. #V5154 |
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VICTORIAN sterling 2" ornate bows and ivy leaves bar pin hallmarked
Chester, England, 1900-1. #V13432
View
View #V13432 |
VICTORIAN sterling
hallmarked 1-5/8" round brooch marked "D&LS" as the maker.
View
View #V18647 |
VICTORIAN
ornate bows and ivy leaves
View #V13421 |
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DECORATED links 14k
7-inch long bracelet with aqua enameling, a diamond center, and a chain
slide-style safety, circa 1895. #V20328 |
VICTORIAN ring,
rectangular shape with seed pearl, circa 1860-1880. View
#V3495 |
VICTORIAN PARURE coral was believed to ward off bad health. This bracelet
is four strands and 7" long. the watch hooked brooch is 1-1/2" and smaller
one is 3/4". The earrings are 7/8" screw backs, and the ring is size 7.
View
View
#V3800 |
VICTORIAN
carved ivory name brooch, "Jane".
View
#V23463 |
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Note: These items were photographed from private collections and are for
reference only.
Jewelry that is available
for sale can be accessed at the links below.
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See JEWELRY AVAILABLE FOR SALE accessible below. |
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