Pride Jewelry

Victorian vintage jewelry is unlike any other jewelry before or since. This jewelry was filled with sentiment and each and every piece meant the world to someone who wore it. Victorian era jewelry was not just worn to make people look pretty, it was often a token of love or remembrance and each piece stood for something. In those days you could tell a lot by the type of Victorian jewelry that a woman wore, her station in life and even her marital status.

The Victorian era ran from 1837-1901 and in this time people wore an enormous amount of jewelry often many pieces at the same time. Because jewelry was so available in these times—as it had not been in the past—people took advantage and wore as much as they could. You can plainly see in paintings of Queen Victoria how the royals would wear numerous brooches, necklaces, bracelets and more. And while we may not be able to get our hands on vintage jewelry that the queen wore, we do have access to that of the regular people and that too is extraordinary as they tried to be as impressive as she when they could.

There are many forms of Victorian vintage costume jewelry that collectors collect. For example, some of the most popular are hair ornaments, portrait jewelry, cameos, jewelry containing photos and/or hair to name just a few.

Many collectors enjoy collecting Victorian mourning jewelry. This is often black and made from materials such as jet, bog oak, vulcanite or horn. These were worn in remembrance of a friend or loved one who had passed away. This black jewelry went beyond just mourning jewelry however as black was highly fashionable at this time.

During the Victorian era plant collecting was a favorite hobby of many people and this shows through the jewelry styles and motifs. Figures of everything from flowers to trees and bushes to bugs and birds were sought and worn on a regular basis. You can find nature inspired Victorian jewelry in a number of different materials including gold, steel and even shell in some of the finest of cameos. Victorians liked to make a statement and this showed loud and clear in the Victorian jewelry that they wore.

During the 1800’s cut steel jewelry was very fashionable. They could make steel look as if it was loaded with sparkling stones. They would pack the pieces with different sized studs for a glimmering effect that could be seen across the room. This style of jewelry was made in England as well as in Europe but people lost interest in it at the turn of the century.

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