Jewelry styles of the 19th–20th centuries

Victorian jewelry

Jewelry in the style of Art Nouveau (modern)

Jewelry in the Art Deco style (“jazz modern”, “zigzag style”)

• geometric (Spanish or Latin American) style, in which cigarette cases and powder boxes were decorated;
• Chinese style, in which interiors were created using varnishes and paintings on silk;
• the Egyptian style, in which clothes and jewelry were made - necklaces, brooches, bracelets, earrings;
• Russian style - appeared in the 20s in connection with the influx of emigrants from Russia and the opening of fashion houses and restaurants of Russian cuisine; manifested itself in the wild popularity of Russian embroidery in a suit and its motifs in jewelry art.

Photo 6: ruby ​​lips brooch (Dali); decoration in Art Nevo style; lalique style

Jewelry in the style of "actual art"

Hyperrealistic Jewelry

Surrealist jewelry

The concept of vintage is not just old things, vintage jewelry is distinguished according to the style and time of their creation, their value and how they should be worn certainly depend on this. The basic definition of vintage jewelry is the name of things, accessories or jewelry made during the period limited by the time frame of the Georgian era (1714-1837) and the so-called retro era (forties of the last century).

Among the stained glass decorations, the following groups are also distinguished:

Georgian era (1714 - 1830)

Jewelry from the times of Kings Georges I, II, III and IV is, first of all, a symbol of prosperity and prosperity. At that time, floral motifs, bows, butterflies, encrusted with precious stones prevailed in the manufacture of jewelry.

Victorian jewelry (1837-1901)

The legendary Queen Victoria began to rule the country at the age of eighteen, over time, the young queen turned into, as they would say now, a real style icon of an entire era. Victorian jewelry is usually made of yellow or rose gold, set with diamonds or semi-precious stones. Often, the initials of the owner were engraved on jewelry; cameos were incredibly popular. with images of people to whom they were dedicated, as well as various medallions in which they kept locks of hair, petals of dried flowers and other things dear to the heart of the owner or owner of the jewelry. Often on Victorian jewelry you can find the image of a snake, at that time this reptile was considered a symbol of eternal love, such jewelry became especially popular after Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha gave the queen a ring with a snake adorned with precious stones.

Edwardian era (1901-1915)

Jewelry from the era of King Edward VII is distinguished by fine filigree work with an abundance of small carved details and miniature accents in the form of curls or curves. Despite the cost, platinum jewelry was especially popular.

Art Deco (1920-1930)

After the end of the First World War, the role of women in society changed somewhat, and this fact could not but be reflected in fashion trends that did not bypass the jewelry business. Jewelry acquired more sharp geometric shapes. Onyx and multi-colored enamel made a worthy competition to platinum and diamonds.

Retro (1940s)

The retro era includes jewelry made during World War II and after. Based on art deco trends, retro jewelry is often asymmetrical in shape and rather large in size. Such gizmos were often decorated with pear-shaped or marquise-cut diamonds and rubies.

How and with what to wear vintage jewelry

Any vintage jewelry is a bright and original thing, so when combining antiques with jewelry made from other metals, you should be extremely careful. It is better not to mix metals, wear platinum with platinum, but with yellow gold choose a yellow gold company.

Do not mix styles and decorations from different eras. Bold, slightly edgy retro lines go pretty well with art deco expressiveness, but combining the same art deco with Victorian or Edwardian decoration looks extremely out of place.

You should not wear too much antique jewelry, even if your grandmother left you a full box of rare brooches, rings as a legacy. and beads. One or two things can give the image originality and a special charm, but too much looks tasteless and even ridiculous. Stylists recommend combining an expressive vintage item with simpler and more unpretentious things, for example, a large antique brooch or ring is better to complement with a couple of less pretentious things, but medium-sized jewelry, for example, a ring and a pendant, regardless of their age, are quite well combined with each other.

A vintage brooch or vintage earrings without a pair, if desired, can be transformed into a new accessory, for example, a pendant or an original hair ornament. An old necklace can be turned into an original belt, a pendant can be turned into a keychain for a bag or a mobile phone. An antique cameo can get a second wind if, by adding a velvet ribbon to it, you make yourself a new one.

Probably it's time to create a library on a BEAD (or a piggy bank)

So, let's start, blessing ....
I promised to make a selection of styles, I think it will be useful to everyone, not only for creating jewelry.

Since the next question arose about creating a Victorian-style snowflake for the New Year, perhaps I'll start with it.

So: where did it come from…. And what does it mean for us...

Victorian style
In Gregorian times, it was very fashionable to wear many bracelets at once, including bracelets with gold ribbons and bracelets made of silk ribbons. Bracelets with precious stones and diamonds were decorated in a geometric style. At this time, gold was widely used.

The Victorian era brought changes to women's fashion, including jewelry styles.
Earrings became longer and now hung freely, bracelets became rigid and were usually worn in pairs. Buckle bracelets have become very fashionable.

VICTORIAN STYLE- the conditional name of a long period in the history of art in England in the second half of the 19th century, associated with the years of the reign of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) and Prince Consort Albert (1819-1861).

During this period, the Victorian style was formed in the UK, characterized by a variety of forms, rich decorations and pomposity. Subsequently, the Victorian style spread throughout Europe.

The legendary Queen Victoria began to rule the country at the age of eighteen, over time, the young queen turned into, as they would say now, a real style icon of an entire era.
Victorian jewelry is usually made of yellow or rose gold, set with diamonds or semi-precious stones. Often, jewelry was engraved with the initials of the owner, cameos with images of people to whom they were dedicated were incredibly popular, as well as various medallions in which curls of hair, dried flower petals and other things dear to the heart of the owner or owner of the jewelry were kept. Often on Victorian jewelry you can find the image of a snake, at that time this reptile was considered a symbol of eternal love, such jewelry became especially popular after Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha gave the queen a ring with a snake adorned with precious stones.

The beginning of the Victorian era was filled with unbridled optimism.
At this time, England experienced a period of industrial upsurge and became the workshop of the world.
Victorian style - against the backdrop of a stylistically indefinite decor, without any order and analysis, a lot of unnecessary items were placed. The Victorian style was present in decorations and home interiors and in architecture and in many other things. Victorianism was considered an attribute of a luxurious life.




Victorian jewelry
The Victorian era is the time of the reign of Queen Victoria in Great Britain, i.e. late 19th early 20th century Despite the fact that jewelry in the Victorian style has a characteristic style, in general they belong to a broader classification - jewelry romanticism.
During the reign of Queen Victoria, jewelry was created that combined several styles - Gothic, Empire, Classicism and Romanesque.

Jewelry made of gold with black precious stones was popular.
The sentimentalism of that time was displayed in pendants and brooches in the form of hearts, doves, flowers and cupids. Interestingly, the color of the stone was not chosen by chance. It had to correspond to the first letters of the name of the lover or lover. Nowadays, such decorations are very popular. They add to the image of aristocracy, luxury and sophistication.

Decorations early Victorian era ( period of romanticism) were light and airy and consisted of small inexpensive gems and small uneven pearls. Among the design elements, swirls, floral motifs and multicolored gold stood out.

The early Victorian era is also called the Romantic period, and with good reason. The new queen was young, quivering, full of life and passionately in love with her consort husband, Albert. Victoria adored jewelry and wore it in abundance. Naturally, the royal court, and behind it the whole country, imitated the taste of the queen. Gold in any form, sometimes with enamel (finift is the ancient Russian name for enamel, the art of which appeared in Russia from Byzantium in the 10th century, "finiftis" - Greek shiny) and precious stones - was a craze. Fashionable bold cabochons (cabochon is a method of processing a precious or semi-precious stone, in which the stone acquires a smooth convex polished surface without facets) and sets of 4 or more pieces of jewelry selected by combination were very popular. Gold and expensive precious jewelry reigned in evening dresses.

During the day, less luxurious and less expensive jewelry was worn: ivory, tortoiseshell, selected pearls and corals were considered suitable materials for this. The earrings were long and hung freely, swaying. The bracelets were either flexible or rigid and were often worn in pairs. The bracelet in the form of a strap with a buckle was especially successful. Necklaces were worn short, in the center - with a stone that could be separated and used separately either as a brooch or as a pendant.
The Victorians had romantic ideas about nature, and these ideas were no doubt fueled by John Ruskin's philosophical ideas about beauty and God. Therefore, the Victorians adored the images of flora and fauna reflected in their jewelry. Victoria herself loved motifs with snakes, considering them symbols of fidelity and love. Jewelry design of this period often expressed a feeling, a mood. Rings, bracelets and medallions often contained a strand of a loved one's hair. Images and engraved messages personalized the design of the jewelry. (fashion.artyx.ru)

Since the 1950s 19th century the Gothic Renaissance movement begins, bringing with it a revival of the art of painting on enamel, and after a long lull, fine jewelry returns to the jewelry scene.
In the mid 1950s. 19th century gems of various sizes, shapes and colors are also much more often used, but preference was still given to large sizes. Here we find massive jewelry with gems and heavy gold. Diamonds were very popular. Scalloped and fringed gold necklaces and brooches are also becoming very popular, with or without gemstones.

Artistic styles and eras do not have clear boundaries and flow into one another, which is why historians and other specialists have difficulty in distinguishing between jewelry and identifying their belonging to a particular style and time period. Nevertheless, romanticism has its own distinctive features.
This is:
Commemorative decorations (mourning). These are small bracelets, rings, medallions, brooches in which strands of hair of loved ones, children, lovers are woven or hidden. The fashion for mourning jewelry was introduced by Queen Victoria, who began to wear a medallion in memory of her deceased husband Albert. As a rule, jet, onyx, sometimes with small uneven pearls, black enamel and glass, painted horn, i.e., were used for mourning decorations. stones in dark or black shades, and the design was quite gloomy. Massive silver jewelry has also become fashionable for daytime wear.

Animation of Queen Victoria
An interesting feature of jewelry at the end of the 19th century was the active use of images and shapes of birds, insects, and animals. Queen Victoria herself was the owner of a necklace made of deer teeth, although it is closer to the zoo style. The biggest difficulty in creating animalistic jewelry is to choose stones that, in their color, would correspond to nature. That is why at the beginning of the last century, semi-precious stones began to be valued not only for the rarity of their shades, but also for the quality and originality of the pattern. Animalistics had several stages of development: first, lizards and snakes were in fashion, then animals, and everything ended with a Garden of Eden with birds.

Late Victorian era (1885-1901). It is known as the "Aesthetic Period", perhaps because the country began to see more than its own self-satisfaction and was satisfied with the reflection in the mirror. Eye-catching chic in the form of elaborate and ornate jewelery was no longer in favor. Women began to wear less jewelry and fewer types of jewelry. Earrings with small pins were invented. Simple brooches in the form of a bar with a modest motif in the center were considered quite tasteful.
However, the former grandiose impulse, as it turned out, did not completely die out. After the discovery of a diamond mine in South Africa in 1867, diamonds became abundant and less expensive. Their popularity has reached enormous heights. Diamonds have been paired with colored stones such as opal, moonstone and the ever-loved pearl. Necklaces in the form of "dog collars" were worn high on the throat, they consisted of several rows of pearls fastened together by vertically arranged rods, which were studded with diamonds or other pearls, and, in addition, individual strands of pearls were hung under them.
In response to all this, reactionary romanticism lashed out - in jewelry this was expressed in the rejection of what was done by the machine, as opposed to what can be called gifts of nature. The result: softer shapes, relaxed lines, calmer colors such as mauve, yellow and pale green.

Although most Victorian jewelry is associated with England, the most beautiful jewelry of this period - the Victorian era - was made in France.
These products were superior in general quality to English products: they were lighter, more refined, with more intricate engraving, and also had an enamel coating.
The most prominent representatives of the jewelers of the Victorian era are Louis Francois Cartier and Frederic Boucheron, whose jewelery houses still exist. It was they who instilled in secular society a love for curlicues, animals and semi-precious stones, and even the Art Nouveau that replaced Victorianism could not overshadow their achievements and the magnificence of products.

I hope the information was helpful. Thanks internet!

Let's talk about jewelry for girls.

What styles are relevant?

Even in ancient times, women tried to adorn themselves.

In those days, beads, amulets, which were trimmed from natural stone, were considered relevant. Common forms of jewelry were the eye, the heart. Over time, craftsmen learned to create beauty from precious stones and precious jewelry metals.

The Greeks and Romans were famous for their fashion for jewelry. In Ancient Russia, women wore necklaces made of pearls, garnets, bracelets (sleeves). Today, there are many styles, and stylish women's jewelry is available to every beauty. Today, Victorian style, modern (Art Nouveau), jazz modern (Art Deco), hyperrealism, surrealism, etc. are considered fashionable.

Let's consider these directions separately.

Victorian style jewelry for girls

Victorian style has absorbed a whole bunch of different directions. This is Romanesque, Rococo, a little Gothic, classicism, Empire, a share of Arabic and Asian notes, motives. In those days, when the reins of power were in the hands of Queen Victoria, women's jewelry of the 19th century made of gold was popular.

When the queen became a widow, fashion changed dramatically, and a new black color appeared in jewelry. Black stones such as morion, onyx, agate have been inlaid in many jewelry settings. Jewelry beauty acquired a touch of gothic.

In those days, England had a slightly rigid approach to government. There was a spirit of sentimentalism and symbolism in the decorations. Actual were decorations in the form of cupids, doves, hearts, which symbolized love, a sea anchor, which spoke of hope, a snake, which characterized eternal love.

Today, Victorian style is in great demand. Steampunk youth will certainly choose this particular style in terms of preference for jewelry. Such jewelry is unusual in appearance and very stylish. Stones, cameos, nuts, screws, gears, springs add originality to jewelry! Steampunk touched not only jewelry, cars, motorcycles, computers, watches, etc. are produced in this style today. This indicates the relevance of the style and the demand for it.

Jewelry in the Art Nouveau style (Art Nouveau)

This style gained popularity by 1980, that is, it is relatively new. Graceful lines, alluring forms are the main accent. Jewelry in combination with feminine outlines became the basis of this style. Not only the female figure has become the personification of modernity. Images of animals, insects, snakes, birds and flowers were considered relevant.

In the art of Art Nouveau, it was not diamonds and precious metal that gave special value to jewelry, but the idea and work of the master. Author's rare works were considered exclusive, therefore they were highly valued.

René Lalique is a very popular representative of this stylistic trend, in view of the fact that he openly and boldly experimented using a variety of materials in jewelry. These were the most unimaginable alloys of metals, amber, horn, glass, tortoise shell, stones.

The American company "Tiffany" has made a significant contribution to the development and popularity of the Art Nouveau style. Reflection and a touch of modernity can be seen in the collection of their popular jewelry.

Jewelry for girls in the style of Jazz modern (Art Deco)

Immediately after the First World War, the Art Deco style was born. These are intricate geometric figures, interesting dynamic lines, unimaginable colors. Art Deco combined several other styles, namely Egyptian, Chinese, Russian, and geometric styles.

Popular jewelers from France were inspired by the Russian style with hints of Roman, Greek, Egyptian art, which are so vividly represented in the jewelry collection. Jazz style is unusually shaped jewelry that looks quite avant-garde. Simplicity combined with luxury appeals to many modern girls. Antique women's jewelry arouses sincere interest among the fairer sex.

Jewelry for girls in the style of Hyperrealism

What does this style have in common? What is the idea behind it? Initially, the idea of ​​​​the style was the reproduction of objects and ideas in jewelry from the real world. These can be jewelry in the form of a handbag or keys, shoes, etc. For example, the Frenchman Gilles Zhonement has developed an ideal creation - a pendant with a beautiful “adjustable key” diamond. Sufficient original creation for brilliant people.

Also in the well-known jewelry collections of Roberto Coin, you can see a necklace in the form of a snake, a ring in the shape of a scorpion, a ring decorated with an eagle's head or a bull.

Jewelry from the Gavello collection is also of great interest to fashionistas - a pendant with a pendant that imitates a living butterfly in flight, a pendant with a pendant in the form of a skull, a ring decorated with a skull. There are no limits to fantasy for creative people. In addition, fashionistas like such surprises.

Surrealist Jewelry

Surrealism is a vivid reflection of the human subconscious. This is a real paradox! Notes of super-realism with absurdity cause a real stir. In the decorations, you can see the response of real objects, which are somehow changed.

That is, as in life. Looking at one subject, each of us will give him his own assessment, each will have his own vision. Someone sees the bad in the beautiful, and someone sees the unacceptable in the acceptable.

Salvador Dali - the leader of art and the father of the surrealist style! In his manner, a lot of jewelry was created that "blew up" the world of fashion and turned the minds and ideas of many connoisseurs.

The surrealist style was followed by the designer of Mexican origin Sergio Bustamante, the jeweler with German roots Klaus Bonenberger. These are true decorations for real extraordinary people.

Every woman tries to prefer creative jewelry that will perfectly harmonize with her style, emphasize her beauty, the depth of her eyes. Someone prefers to wear gold, someone silver, while others love jewelry. Every man to his own taste!

It doesn't matter if you love handmade jewelry, exclusive jewelry or bijouterie, you can make yourself beautiful and tell about your character!

The main thing is to navigate in styles, so as not to give the appearance of excessive boredom or absurdity.

Be beautiful!

What style do you like? What jewelry (metal, precious stones, bijouterie) do you prefer to wear?

At the request of the moderator of this community and on my personal conviction that it is impossible, nevertheless, to deprive people of such amazing (in every sense) material, I return this post and immediately, so as not to torment you, I will publish the second part of it with the next post.

No one was so spiritualist, no one went so far in the concept of the continuation of life after death as the English or American Spiritualists and their predecessors. Finally, not everyone shared the exaltation inherent in the de La Ferrone family. However, in the 19th century there was, undoubtedly, almost no one who, sooner or later, would not have been visited by a new feeling: the impossibility of coming to terms with the Death of another person - and who would not have shown this feeling.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a wonderful collection of jewelry. One of the showcases contains those that are related to the funeral or the Perpetuation of the memory of the deceased.

Victorian mourning ring

A number of these decorations allow us to trace the evolution from "memento mori" to "souvenir". The oldest of the exhibits is a portable, but still rather bulky, Elizabethan "memento mori": a small gold coffin the size of a snuffbox containing a silver skeleton. At the sight of this work of art, a person indulged in meditations about imminent death, which fully corresponded to the then tradition of treatises that spiritually prepared for the hour of death.
Next comes a real decoration: a gold pendant, again in the shape of a coffin, and in it the curl of the deceased. On the lid of the medallion there is an inscription in English in tiny letters: “P.B. died in 1703 at the age of 54.” Over the course of a century, the coffin moved from "memento mori" to "memoria", a "souvenir" that preserves the memory of the deceased and a material particle of himself; the content has also changed: the skeleton, designed to remind of the frailty of all things, has been replaced by a strand of hair of a loved one.
Another miniature product of the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. combines both motives. It depicts a small two-tiered tombstone: below, on a stone slab, rests a skeleton in the form of a lying statue, and above, two angels raise a medallion to the sky, where, due to lack of space, instead of a portrait of the deceased, his initials flaunt, while the background is formed by the interlacing of his hair. The skeleton still belongs to the "memento mori" tradition, the rest - to the new tradition of "souvenirs".
Both of these pieces are unique in their own way. But in very many works of jewelers of the XVII century. the motif of a miniature tombstone is repeated with slight variations - not a gloomy monument in the interior of the church, but an antique stele or burial urn, next to which is a tearful woman, and with her a child or a small dog. It is easy to recognize here the already mentioned "mourning picture", reduced to the size of a miniature. The background is often made from the hair of the deceased.
And so, the theme is the same - a tombstone. But its appearance and function have changed. The fear of death and the impulse to pious meditations were replaced by the remembrance of the deceased. On one of the decorations, dating from 1780, there is an inscription: "May the saints embrace you with love like mine." In the 19th century the image of the headstone, in turn, disappears. The decoration of this time is a simple medallion, very often with a portrait of the deceased and one or two of his curls. Chains and bracelets are also made from strands of hair. The strand of hair itself becomes a bearer of the memory of the dearly deceased. The theme of death, as it were, is erased, but remains - a substitute for the body - its imperishable fragment.

WHAT IS FUNERAL JEWELRY?

Often during mourning, jewels that belonged to the deceased are worn as a sign of memory of him. For many people, wearing things that belonged to a loved one somehow alleviates the plight of the mourner. The earliest mourning jewels were found in Europe and date back to the 15th-16th centuries. These are rings and brooches with inserts in the form of skulls. In the 18th century, jewelry made from the hair of the deceased became very popular. Since the 19th century, mourning decorations have become very diverse. These are rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, tie pins, bracelets and watch chains, purses, handbags, canes, mourning cuffs on women's hats made of knitted and curled ostrich feathers, glass beads embroidery on mourning dresses.

FUNERAL HAIR JEWELRY

In many religions and beliefs, hair has long been considered a symbol of life, and therefore has been associated with funeral traditions in many cultures. This is proved by the paintings of Egyptian tombs, which depict scenes showing pharaohs and queens changing hairpins as a symbol of immortal love. In Mexico, Indian women kept the hair that fell out during combing in a special vessel, which, after their death, was laid with them in the grave, so that the soul would not get tired in search of the missing parts of the body, and thus its transition to another world was delayed. The craft of making hair ornaments came to Europe in the Middle Ages. At the end of the 18th century in England, they were made from a curl, under which the inscription “In memory” was located, and all this was bordered with pearls.
Hair ornaments became fashionable in the US during the Civil War. When a soldier left home, he left a strand (sometimes more) of hair in the family. If a soldier died, then a mourning decoration, such as a necklace, was made from his hair. There is a mention of such a necklace in the novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Most often, the curl was placed in a medallion. Medallions were made of gold or metal covered with black enamel, sometimes they had the inscription "For memory" and the initials or the name of the deceased. The well-known fashion researcher of those times, the Englishwoman Lady Godi, who devoted a series of books to her research, supported the promotion of fashion for hair jewelry. This is evidenced by an excerpt from an 1850 edition of the book: “Hair is both the most elegant and the most modern material that can outlive us, like love. They are so light, soft, and so far from thoughts of death that, having a lock of hair that belonged to a child or a friend, we can look into the sky and say: “Your part is now here with me, which is almost the same as if you was right there." Lady Godie's book reminded readers that, in accordance with mourning etiquette, on the second day of mourning, one could wear a brooch or bracelet made of hair, with a clasp of gold or black-enamelled metal. Even a watch chain or a simple gold buckle was allowed to be worn during mourning only if hair was included in their design.
Hair products were made at a round table, in the center of which there was a hole. Depending on the height of the table, the work took place sitting or standing. The height of work tables for women was usually 81-84 centimeters, and for men - 1 meter 22 centimeters. Material preparation was an important part of the process. First, the hair was boiled in water with soda for 15 minutes. This procedure made it possible to degrease the hair and make it more durable. Then they were sorted by length and divided into strands of 20-30 hairs. Most jewelry required long hair. For example, for a medium-sized bracelet, hair 50-70 centimeters long was needed. Nearly all decorations were made using a mold that was attached to the center hole of the desktop, or using hard material. When the jewelry was ready, it was sent to jewelers to make a setting.

FUNERAL RINGS

Rings have been and remain one of the most common mourning decorations. Even among the ancient Slavs, before burial, they were removed from the deceased so that they would not hold back the soul leaving the body. The removed rings were worn by the relatives of the deceased as a sign of mourning for him. The ancient Varangians wore rings during mourning, protecting themselves from various negative influences of the spirit of the deceased. In the Middle Ages in Europe, mourning rings were presented by family members of the deceased to friends. One of the earliest such pieces that have come down to us is a 15th-century English ring adorned with a skull, a worm, and the name of the deceased. The basic idea of ​​the head of death (skull) was used in mourning rings until the 18th century. The ring, presented to relatives after the execution of Charles I in 1649, shows a deeply carved image of the king on one side, and a skull and crown on the other. Inside the ring is the inscription: "The glory of England has died."
In the XVII-XVIII centuries, the presentation of mourning rings was a symbol of position in society. Many wealthy people included instructions in their wills on what rings should be and how many should be made. The English chronicler and Navy official Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) wished that 129 rings of mourning be distributed at his funeral. In the 18th century, mourning rings were made in the form of spirals, using white enamel for the death of an unmarried person and black for a married person. Name, age, dates of birth and death were written on the spiral. In addition, images of funeral urns, coffins, snakes, branches of a weeping willow, mourning female figures, miniatures of mourned surrounded by small pearls were placed there. In 18th-century Russia, mourning rings were given to everyone who came to the funeral.

MATERIALS FOR MANUFACTURING FUNERAL JEWELRY

The classic material used for this purpose is black amber, or jet. It has been used in this capacity for thousands of years. Black amber is a hard, coal-like material. Its formation dates back to the time when the semi-flooded forest sank to the bottom of the ocean and filled up with mud. Through high temperature, pressure and chemical action, the wood was transformed into a compact, brittle black substance. This stone was used by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. In the Middle Ages, there was a belief that its shiny surface averts evil looks, and heated jet drives away snakes and evil spirits. The best black amber was mined at the beginning of the 19th century in Yorkshire, England. Jewelers found this stone to be light and extremely suitable for engraving. Beautiful large medallions, brooches, bracelets and necklaces came out of it. After the early death of her husband, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria decreed that only jet jewels were to be worn at court during the first year of mourning. Today there is a shortage of black amber, so products made from it are of great value. The earliest pieces of jewelry are in private collections. Due to the shortage of jet, its imitations began to appear. One of them is French black amber. It is a black glass made in the USA since 1893. It is heavier than real jet and is mainly used for making beads and small items. In the United States, onyx-based material was also produced, which was treated with acids and tinted to give it a dull black color. A little later, items made of painted horn and ebonite appeared. In 1842, another substitute for black amber, gutta-percha, was introduced in Paris. It is a black or brownish rubbery material made from the sap of the Malay tree. Very durable, it was popular with the Victorians, and therefore many medallions, brooches, bracelets and canes were made from it. In addition to jet and its imitations, black tourmaline (sherl), black garnet (melanite), black obsidian - natural volcanic glass, opaque stones - agate, onyx, chrysoberyl, and sometimes even a diamond have been used and are used for the manufacture of mourning jewelry.
Wearing mourning ornaments was prescribed only during strict mourning. During non-strict mourning and semi-mourning, it was allowed to wear pearls, amethysts, silver items.
It can be said that the end of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century became the decline of mourning jewelry. It was associated with the death of Queen Victoria, the outbreak of the First World War and the feminist movement.
Today, the rules of mourning are not so strict, although there are still restrictions on wearing jewelry. Now, during mourning, you can wear pearl earrings, beads, a modest small brooch, items made of silver or dull gold and, of course, black amber.