18th and 19th Century Jewelry

The jewelry of the 18th and 19th century are valued more for their beauty and historical associations than their monetary value. They consisted of precious and semiprecious stones such as diamonds, rubies, emeralds, topaz, and garnets. The two most consistent metals they used were gold and silver. Some of the most beautiful items of this period are what we would call today costume jewelry.  More than half of the remaining collection are rings and during this time there was a popular type of jewelry called mourning jewelry. This type of jewelry featured brooches and lockets containing a small amount of the hair of the deceased. This era is sometimes known as The Victorian Era named after Queen Victoria who reign ushered in a lot of modern style and technology. The queen’s jewelry and fashion influenced the world , as jewelry was extremely important to her. Her bridal jewelry consisted of an elaborate “Turkish “ diamond necklace with matching earrings. This era came to an end with her death on January 22, 1901 but the style of this period is still extremely popular and she is still one of the most admired and respected queens in history.