Mourning jewelry
Jewelry worn in memory of the dead, from Georgian rings to Victorian jet.
Mourning jewelry was worn to remember the dead. Georgian mourning rings, often in black and white enamel with the name and date of the deceased, were distributed at funerals. After the death of Prince Albert in 1861, Queen Victoria’s long mourning made black jewelry fashionable: jet from Whitby, black enamel, onyx and jewels containing woven hair.
What to look for
Inscriptions date a piece and tell its story. Check enamel for losses.
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