Victorian Jewelry
The Victorian Era from 1837-1901 covers the entire reign of Queen Victoria. Usually broken up into the Romantic, Grand, and Aesthetic Periods, the Victorian Era’s fashion and trends are closely associated with this long-reigning monarch. Near the end of the century, stylistic changes become more drastic and other jewelry style eras emerge alongside the predominant Victorian Era. Choose from the Victorian pictorial glossary below to find out more.
Historic Overview
As the long reign of the four Georges drew to an end, the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of York and Strathearn (son of George III) and Princess Victoria of...
The Victorian jewelry era is lengthy, covering the entire reign of its namesake Queen from 1837 to 1901. Advances in technology, the growing middle class, discovery of gold in California and...
Mid-Victorian women were competing with men for jobs as clerks, teachers, and factory inspectors and they were fighting to win the right to vote. Suddenly they had their own money,...
The Aesthetic Period of Victorian jewelry can be defined as one of reaction against previous jewelry periods. Victorians became disillusioned with fashions and furnishings and sought a way out of...
Vignettes
Throughout history, men used ornamental items to proclaim their status and display power and superiority. In many periods, men were generally much more bedazzled than their female counterparts. As the...
Cameos, valued since antiquity as engraved gems, were exceedingly popular during the Georgian and Victorian periods. Many different materials were used for carving cameos. For hardstone cameos, varieties of agate including onyx, sardonyx, and jasper were popular. These stones,...
Popular throughout the Victorian Era, the jewelry we think of as “Scottish” is just as likely to have been made in England as in Scotland. Also referred to as “pebble”...
Nineteenth-Century jewelry consisted predominantly of adaptations of earlier jewelry styles. It has been argued by some historians that a return to the past in jewelry design came from a singular...
During the late 19th century jewels and hair ornaments were set into “en en tremblant” motion with the use of a small concealed battery. These tiny automatons included skulls with rolling...
Egyptomania is an extreme obsession for all things Egyptian and, throughout history, a passion for Egypt has been a recurring theme. By the time Napoléon Bonaparte stormed Egypt at the...
Glyptography is the art of gemstone carving and the term applies to both intaglios and cameos. Begun in ancient times, circa 15,000 B.C., as one of the earliest forms of communication,...
Micromosaics are a type of mosaic created from tiny fragments of glass, called tesserae. The tesserae are mosaic pieces made from an opaque vitreous glass or enamel in a multitude of colors called smalto. The smalto is pulled into rods...
Eyes have long been thought of as the window of the soul alternately revealing and concealing one’s deepest thoughts and feelings. Symbolically, the eye has turned up as the all-seeing...
Human hair has been incorporated into jewelry since at least the seventeenth century. Around that time, the hair of the dear departed began to be incorporated into memento mori pieces, as...
The romantic movement which arose during the second half of the 18th century as an antidote to the Enlightenment came to full blossom during the first part of the nineteenth...
Diamonds are the gemstone most commonly associated with engagement rings, but that has not always been the case. They first made their appearance in betrothal rings circa the fifteenth century but...
A signet ring features an intaglio gem, or decorative carving that is engraved with a monogram, coat of arms or, other heraldic or personal symbol. Throughout history, signets were used as...
This little perfect figure may seem to be a trifling matter on which to found an essay; and yet we shall find it connected with history and poetry. It is...
Earrings are much more than just decorative jewelry for the ear. Gods and goddesses, symbols, talismans and amulets have all been depicted in the designs fastened to or suspended from the ear...
A necklace can be defined simply as an adornment designed to encircle the neck. Upon closer examination, they are actually so much more. Having existed ever since our ancestors began...
Terms & Definitions
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Archaeological revival refers to the neo-styles of the 18th and 19th centuries inspired by the excavations and discoveries of Roman, Egyptian, Hellenistic and Etruscan sites. The first revival came after...
Balmoral Castle is located in Aberdeenshire Scotland and was the summer royal residence of Queen Victoria, and continued to be a favorite for members of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth...
Berlin iron is a black-lacquered cast iron material used in jewelry making beginning c. 1790. Originating in Silesia, Prussia at the Gleiwitz Foundry, the Royal Berlin Foundry and a manufacturer...
Billet-doux translates from the French as “sweet note” or “love letter.” The term was introduced into the English language by William Makepeace Thackeray in his novel “Vanity Fair” – 1848. Coded...
A Victorian chain style consisting of interlocking links of flat folded metal resembling the binding of a book. An alternative name for this type of link is the Venetian chain.
A C pin catch is a loop of wire, shaped like the letter “C”, soldered onto the reverse of a brooch or pin providing a stopper for the pinstem thus securing the brooch to the fabric. This basic...
A Catherine wheel brooch has a central hub and at least eight radiating spokes. The name comes from its resemblance to the St. Catherine torture wheel (also known as a...
A daguerreotype is an early type of photograph that was first discovered and patented in France in 1839 by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. The process for producing a daguerreotype began with a...
En pampille refers to a style in which a series of gems, typically diamonds, are arranged as a cascade. The gems descend in size and terminate in a very small “icicle-shaped”...