The History of Antique Victorian Jewelry (1837 to 1901)

Victorian jewelry is jewelry made during the reign of Queen Victoria, from 1837 to 1901. Over those 64 years jewelry changed enormously, and much of that change followed the Queen's own life: a romantic young marriage, a bold and dramatic middle period, and a late, lighter period at the end of the century. Knowing the story makes it much easier to recognize and appreciate a Victorian piece.

The three Victorian periods

The Romantic period, 1837 to about 1860

Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840, and her engagement ring, a gold serpent set with an emerald, made the snake a symbol of eternal love. Jewelry of these years is sentimental and full of meaning: hearts, hands, eyes, anchors, crosses, love knots, buckles, flowers and vines. Gold work is detailed and often textured, and colored stones such as garnet, turquoise, amethyst and seed pearls are everywhere.

The Grand period, about 1861 to 1880

This was a confident, prosperous era, and its jewelry is bolder and heavier, with large lockets, bangles and brooches. Dramatic jet, black enamel and onyx became fashionable, and sentimental lockets made to hold a keepsake lock of hair were treasured.

The Late or Aesthetic period, about 1880 to 1901

Jewelry became lighter and more delicate again. Diamonds became more available after the South African discoveries of the late 1860s and 1870s, and star, crescent, bar and bird brooches, half-hoop rings and cluster rings with old mine cut diamonds became popular.

Love across distance

Britain's empire sent many people abroad for years at a time, and jewelry carried messages between them. "Mizpah" jewelry, engraved with the Hebrew word for watchtower, from the Biblical line "The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another", was a popular gift between people who were apart.

Materials

Gold supply grew through international trade and the gold rushes in California and Australia. Alongside diamonds and pearls, Victorian jewelers used agate, amber, amethyst, chalcedony, chrysoberyl, coral, emerald, garnet, malachite, topaz, turquoise and seed pearls, as well as materials such as lava stone, tortoiseshell and hair. Diamonds were often set in silver on gold to keep them looking white.

Why so much Victorian jewelry is still treasured today

The Industrial Revolution and a growing middle class meant far more jewelry was made, given and cherished than in any earlier era. That is why so many Victorian pieces have come down to us, each with its own story, while Georgian jewelry is much scarcer.

Learn more and explore

Want to know how to recognize a Victorian piece? Read our guide on how to identify Victorian jewelry. Then browse our antique Victorian jewelry, or ask us about any piece.

Written by Shawn Eshaghian, appraiser and co-owner of The Antique Parlour in Great Neck, New York, which he runs with Natasha. He writes and signs The Antique Parlour's certificates of appraisal.