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 Australia and a change in the social climate resulted in more jewelry being produced during the nineteenth century than in all prior history. Women overtook men as the primary jewelry wearers and they wore it in great volume. Decorative and necessary items such as buckles, buttons, and fasteners were now designed with the masses in mind. Production of memento, religious and talismanic jewelry was unsurpassed and these items were suddenly a necessity for everyone. In order to understand this wide-ranging era of jewelry history it is subdivided into three periods; the Early or Romantic, the Middle or Grand, and the Late Victorian or Aesthetic periods.

The early years of the Victorian era reflected the youth of the new Queen. This was a time of courtship and marriage for Victoria. Nostalgia for the Middle Ages was rampant in England. Tournaments were reenacted, organized groups and clubs toured historical buildings to learn the difference between Gothic and Norman and those involved in the arts adopted the Middle Ages in their designs. Themes inspired by the Renaissance and the Middle Ages were everywhere in jewelry design and motifs from nature dominated the period. Bouquets of flowers, branches, leaves, grapes, and berries were conspicuously featured in jewelry. Symbolism associated with flowers was prominently in evidence. Serpent motifs were at their apex. Popular since antiquity, snake jewelry served as a bold symbol of wisdom and eternity.

The jewelry from the early part of this period was completely handmade. Prior to 1854, there were only two gold standards allowed for hallmarking with the crown, 22 karat, and 18 karat. Consequently, high-karat gold, tri-color gold, and silver comprised the main metals used. After 1854 less expensive karat gold, 9, 12 and 15 karat, was legalized to make English jewelry more competitive in the international market.

Manufacturing processes that greatly sped up production began to be applied for use in the jewelry industry. In 1852 a method for cutting and stamping settings, using hand-operated presses, turned out entire pieces of jewelry very quickly and inexpensively. Machine production of jewelry now included costume jewelry made of gilt or pinchbeck with glass imitation gems. The invention of electroplating caused a revolution in costume jewelry manufacture, making it, even more, cost-effective and much faster. All of this innovation resulted in the proliferation of popular designs at all levels of society.

When the French conquered Algeria, design elements from their cultures such as tassels, twisted cords, knots, and festoons were imitated in gold and translated into jewelry. In 1848 Sir Austen Henry Laynard published Nineveh and its Remains and jewelers lost no time in adopting these Assyrian styles in their creations. One prominent outcome of this interest was the lotus flower design that captivated Victorians for the next forty years.

Jewelry became a popular souvenir item as the now very mobile Victorians traveled throughout Europe on trains. Italian micromosaics with their colorful tesserae depictions of the classic Roman ruins and pietra dura mosaics with inlaid gemstone themes from nature were snapped up by vacationing Victorians. Lava cameos from the newly excavated Pompeii were set in every type of jewelry for sale to travelers. Swiss enameled plaques were collected and mounted on brooches and necklaces.

The young Queen traveled to Scotland in 1842 and was treated to a great show of Highland pageantry. Eventually, she purchased the Balmoral Estate and built a home there as a retreat for her family. Adopting the Royal Stuart tartan, the royal family was widely seen wearing their new tartan at State balls, the Great Exhibition and on a State visit to Paris. To augment her highland wardrobe, the Queen began collecting the multi-colored agate jewelry native to the region. Twisted ribbons, chevrons, and scrolls served as inspiration for elaborate engraving and chasing. Thistles, leaves, berries, and swords created primarily in silver and accented with the native Cairngorm, agate, and quartz were desirable souvenir pieces for visitors emulating a fashion popularized by their Queen.

Queen Victoria loved cameos and as a result, cameos enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. Cameos were bigger and bolder than ever before, carved in extremely high relief in onyx, dyed chalcedony, amethyst, and other gems. Large shell cameos with mythological themes and figures along with habillés, shell cameos decorated by gem-set jewelry and inlaid hardstone elements, were new twists on this classic jewelry staple.

Coral was used extensively during this period and remained in vogue until c. 1865. Coral was often worn in its natural branch form, a custom begun in Italy to ward off the evil eye or protect children from danger. Finely carved coral cameos, hands, flowers, crosses and other motifs were also prized. Coral beads in all shapes and colors (dark red and pale pink were preferred) were strung around the neck in great volume. Carved coral parures were characteristic of the period.

Amazing jewelry creations were constructed using mother-of-pearl frames supporting incredibly intricate seed pearl flowers, leaves, and scrolls. Flowers being the most popular seed pearl design during this period, they were often combined with the Prince of Wales feathers or a landscape rendered in hair. Frames to enhance a gemstone were also woven from seed pearls. These impossibly fragile sculptures were composed of minuscule seed pearls from China sewn together with white horsehair (pulled from a living horse). Often entire parures consisting of a dozen or more pieces of incredible delicacy were assembled as bridal jewelry.

Mourning and sentimental jewelry flourished during the Romantic Period and included fabulously intricate jewelry woven completely out of hair. Hair was also used in a painterly style to depict Prince of Wales feathers, ships, landscapes and other sentimental subjects on plaques capped with crystal. Women were encouraged to learn the art so that they could be sure that there was no substitution of their loved one’s hair. The art form was so prevalent that a life-sized portrait of Queen Victoria made entirely of hair was constructed for the Paris Exposition in 1855.

Jet from the Yorkshire coast at Whitby had greater elasticity and was stronger than jet from other parts of the world and, as a result, held a better polish and could be more finely carved. Jet was being used to create chains, beads, and carvings for a fashionable mourning period. Imitations such as French Jet, cheaply produced glass imitations, were available to the uninitiated.