Victorian jewelry

 

Many people find it hard to believe that the origin of opal stud earrings took place 100,000 years ago, as evidenced by mollusc jewelry found in South Africa. Molluscs are small snails and clams, and their shells were used to make this jewelry, although it was undoubtedly for more functional purposes (such as holding clothing together) than for adorning people. In the earliest times, natural materials such as animal teeth, shells, bones, wood and stone were used.

The first period during which opal necklace was widely used to adorn people was the Georgian era beginning in the 1760s. The larger sized jewelry of the past has been replaced by delicate smaller forms. It is very difficult to find jewelry from this period, but jewelry from the Victorian era beginning in the mid-1800s during the reign of Queen Victoria is a different story. The Victorian era ended in 1901 with the death of the Queen.

In favor were the portraits that the Italians carved from seashells. The women were known to travel to Italy where they purchased necklaces, earrings and brooches with cameo designs and lava jewelry made from colored lava from Mount Vesuvius. Soon the industrial revolution saw the manufacture of jewelery and resulted in the end of hand carving.

The Queen also received credit for the bracelet and had a number of charms designed. She often gave opal wedding rings as gifts to family and friends. Jewelry was a status symbol of the rich, or accompanied fashionable clothing, but the rise of the middle class created a demand for larger quantities produced. Queen Victoria continued to set the trend for other women, and her romantic nature and nature itself were reflected in jewelry designed with birds, hearts, butterflies, dragonflies, jewels decorated with flowers, ribbons and bows. Jewelry containing the hair of both the living and the dead was especially popular. Some of these pieces were very intricate in design. Lockets were also used to attach hair or images of the deceased.

Victoria also favored serpent designs, a symbol of eternal love, and her engagement ring from Prince Albert in 1840 was a serpent designed with an emerald in its head. Terms of endearment such as "dearest" or "respect" often appeared on engagement rings. Her wedding dress was adorned with a sapphire and diamond brooch, a gift from her husband-to-be. The Queen also favored opals, but other affordable semi-precious stones such as amethyst, coral, pearl, turquoise and garnet were also popular for the mass market. Ivory, pearls, bog oak, smoky quartz, jasper, agate, enamel, petrified wood, marble, as well as gold and silver found in Scottish jewelry were also popular with the public as tartan plaids became fashionable after the Queen's children began. wear them.

New finds of gold led to the creation of different gold processing methods and gold jewelry became more affordable. The opening of diamond mines in South Africa also brought diamonds within the reach of the middle class. In 1861, Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, died, and so-called mourning jewelry made of black stones such as onyx, jet, and black enamel was in vogue. They were commonly worn by relatives of the deceased. Jet was carved into necklaces, earrings and pins. The suffragette movement was beginning and black jewelry continued to be fashionable. 

Today, Victorian jewelry can be found at antique stores and estate sales. Some reproduction jewelry is also sold because Victorian jewelry still has an appeal to the public.