VICTORIAN JEWELLERY

Jewellery for Sale The Victorian and Edwardian Jewellery on the site has been chosen with great care to provide a wide choice of antique items, all of which were the height of fashion in their day. Most of the items are classic pieces which have not become dated and can be worn with modern fashions. A lot of the antique pieces were hand made and so retain their individuality. If you browse through the many brooches, earrings and rings, you may see similarities but you will never see an item duplicated, unlike modern jewellery which is mass produced on a very large scale. In the 18th century, precious jewellery was the privelege of the wealthy few and pieces were made on a small scale, only for those who could afford it Most pieces would be individually commissioned for that special person or for an occasion. By the mid 19th century the disposable income of the middle and working classes had begun to rise and so jewellery became more widely available to more people, although it was still worn mainly by the upper classes.. Victorian jewellery is usually ornate and decorative and sometimes rather ostentatious but as the century progressed, styles became more open and lighter and more angular, often showing oriental influence, and becoming more wearable with day clothes. Most jewellery was hand made up to 1850 after which machine made jewellery was introduced, although it was not mass produced in the same quantities as it is today. Hand made pieces are always more desirable than machine made or mass produced articles as they are individually designed and rarely duplicated. Bar brooches enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 1890s because of the fashion for high collars, you will see hundreds of examples both stone set and plain but you rarely see two that are exactly the same. They were made in silver, 9ct gold, 15ct gold and 18ct gold, also in jet, ivory, bone and base metal. High quality examples often in 18ct or 15ct gold are very collectable and usually stand out from the others. Most 19th century jewellery is 15ct which is quite yellow due to the higher carat and gold content. 15ct, 12ct and 9ct were introduced in 1854 and 12ct and 15ct were discontinued in 1932 when 14ct was introduced. The carat decimal for 15ct is .625 and the item should also carry the town mark , makers mark and date letter. Between the years 1784 and 1890, the sovereigns head was struck to show that duty had been paid. Although many valuable items escaped paying duty and do not carry a hallmark, they are made of precious metal.

Etruscan style applied gold work was fashionable in the late 19th century and can be seen adorning many intricate designs on earrings ,brooches and pendants typical of this period . There was not much jewellery made for men during this period as it was not fashionable, apart from cravat pins, watch chains and rings. Most Victorian pendants and brooches have small lockets on the back for a lock of hair or a photograph, often the glass or metal frame has gone missing over the years. but the tell tale shape of the locket back remains to bear witness to the treasured picture or lock of hair it once held. Diamond jewellery was popular in the 19th century and up to the present day although the specific value depends on the individual piece as well as the quality of the diamonds, which can differ enormously from piece to piece. The closed settings used in the mounting of 19th century diamonds are either silver or gold or even silver on gold and because the back of the setting is closed thus preventing light reflecting behind the stone ,much of the brilliance is lost. To counteract this a foil back was added between the stone and the setting ,this was always silver for a diamond and various colours for coloured stones. Diamond jewellery can be dated by the different cutting of the stones The Victorians used rose cut, brilliant cut and table or cushion cut diamonds. Topical subjects were often portrayed in jewellery and in 1834 Halleys comet caused great interest and had many brooches, earrings and pendants made in its form.. Many lunar jewels were made in the form of brooches, tiaras ,and necklaces representing comets stars and crescents which are still popular today. Jewellery became more affordable in the 19th century with the world wide discovery of sapphire from Kashmir ,opals from Australia, gold from California, demantoid garnets from Russia and diamonds from South Africa where the Kimberly mine was founded in 1871.