| Victorian Jewelry |
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Jewelry has mesmerized us from times past and the Victorian era truly may be termed as probably the best thing that could happen to jewelry. Victorian jewelry may be termed as the best compared to any other time period and were delicately detailed. This type of jewelry represents human emotions like love and affection very tenderly and may be termed as very special and close to one’s heart. You may call it a very complex type of jewelry reflecting the sentiments of Queen Victoria and her great passion for jewelry and adornment.
History of Victorian jewelry
It may not be easy to absorb the beauty of Victorian jewelry without understanding about the great monarch Queen Victoria. She was a lover of jewelry and came to the throne at the tender youthful age of 18. She set a trend for all women by designing the jewelry herself and gifting to friends and family. Jewelry became a social status symbol and reflected a lot of Queen Victoria’s emotions. She was a very romantic woman and a great lover of children and very loyal to her husband. The designs reflect a lot of that love and affection.
Jewelry Design:
Delicate, Intricate and sentimental may clearly define jewelry designed during this period. Victorian Jewelry uses yellow and rose gold, was very colorful and made with different alloys and stones. The distinct characteristic is that it would be very difficult to find two identical pieces of this type of jewelry. The designs included bows, hearts, birds, flowers and romantic words. The engagement rings during this period had dearest or regards carved on it. Queen Victoria was an ardent lover of nature and gardening and most of the designs feature flowers, birds, plants, leaves etc. It was also during this period that mourning jewelry came into existence which was designed when the Queen’s husband suddenly died in 1861. The jewelry was made of black enamel, jet and onyx and as national mourning was declared this type was in very high demand.
Victorian Jewelry periods:
Victorian Jewelry may be classified into three periods, the romantic period, the grand period and the late period. The Romantic period was during the beginning of the Queen’s reign when she was in her prime and this time marked beautiful romantic designs. Romantic designs included hearts, butterflies, flowers, dragonflies and also serpent designs. Her engagement ring featured a serpent with an emerald at its head as she believed a serpent to be a symbol of eternal love and affection. Engagement rings also featured terms like dearest and regards. Her wedding dress as adorned with a beautiful brooch of sapphires and diamonds.
The grand period was marked by he fact that designs kept getting new turns and were extraordinarily beautiful and unique. Semi precious stones like corals, amethyst, garnet, pearls, ivory, jasper, agate, enamel became exceedingly popular and appealed to the masses. The Etruscan style of Victorian jewelry is by far the most attractive and expensive and uses a granulation technique whereby minute gold beads were embedded on the body of a piece. Another popular jewelry during this era was preserving the hair of the dead or their pictures in specially designed lockets prepared for this purpose. It was also during this period that the Queen’s charm bracelet became highly popular and several charms were designed.
The late period or the aesthetic period marked by the death of Queen Victoria’s husband resulted in mourning jewelry which became popular and began to be worn by relatives of the deceased. This type of jewelry was characterized by black stones like onyx, jet and enamel and carved on to earring, necklaces or even pins. Slowly black jewelry became quite fashionable and popular.
Victorian jewelry truly has a class of its own and would prove to be a perfect surprise gift for your true love. It may be quite expensive though and do not be deceived by less expensive imitation pieces. The internet may be the best place to search for antique jewelry and with the vast number of options available you will surely find the best jewelry to your taste. |
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