APPRAISALS AND  VALUATIONS
  • Home
  • About
  • Antiques Appraisals
  • Art Appraisals
  • Collectibles Appraisals
  • Jewelry Appraisals
  • Insurance Appraisals
  • Estate Appraisals
  • Assistance With Selling
  • Research and Authentication
  • Owner's Biography
  • Contact
  • Appraisals Blog

Bryan H. Roberts Appraisal Services Blog

MOurning Jewelry

11/11/2018

2 Comments

 
Picture
Recently I have been on a tear reading mystery fiction set in late Victorian and Edwardian England. David Dickinson's wonderful series featuring Lord Francis Powerscourt is a favorite, and I have also been enjoying Barbara Hambly's excellent James Asher vampire novels as well. Thus, it seems fitting to share some information about mourning jewelry, which became very popular during the Victorian era and remained so throughout the Edwardian era as well.  

Mourning jewelry is pretty much what it sounds like... jewelry worn to commemorate a lost loved one. The most common form of this is the hair locket and wearing woven hair of some sort actually dates back to the 16th century. The tradition was revived by Queen Victoria and it remained popular into the early 20th century. Some of the lockets were very large and elaborate, with the finest being made out of gold and sometimes featuring enameled decoration and semi-precious stones. Smaller versions were worn either as a small pendant or a charm on a bracelet.

Other mourning jewelry forms included charms carved from ebony and onyx and "lover's eye" rings and lockets. The latter were pieces that featured a closeup of a loved one's eye, and were usually painted pieces. These first became popular in the late 18th century and persisted into the 19th century, although the trend overall was somewhat short-lived. 

Along these lines were portrait 
miniatures, often done on bone or ivory. These were eventually replaced by photographic images in the second half of the 19th century. In some cases, a portrait miniature will feature a glassed compartment on the reverse in which a lock of hair could be placed. 

Overall, there remains an active collector's market for good examples of mourning jewelry. Expect to pay a premium for pieces crafted from gold and in elaborate forms. Similarly, a portrait miniature will bring more if the quality of the painting is above average. Sometimes one can find a charm bracelet composed mostly of mourning jewelry charms. These can have good value and more often than not,  the value is greater if the charms are sold separately.
2 Comments
Midwest Jewellery link
6/26/2019 06:44:34 am

Thank you for the post

Reply
global science research link
2/15/2021 06:31:30 am

Efficiently written information. It will be profitable to anybody who utilizes it, counting me. Keep up the good work. For certain I will review out more posts day in and day out. <a href="https://www.vkonte.com/">global science research</a>

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Bryan H. Roberts is a professional appraiser in Sarasota, FL. He is a member of the Florida State Guardianship Association, the Sarasota County Aging Network (president), and is certified in the latest Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice (USPAP) Equivalent

    Archives

    November 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed




We serve the Sarasota-Venice-Bradenton area... please note that we do not do Real Estate appraisals.
Bryan H. Roberts Appraisal Servic
 All content on this website created by Bryan H. Roberts Appraisal Services is copyrighted.
​© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
  • Antiques Appraisals
  • Art Appraisals
  • Collectibles Appraisals
  • Jewelry Appraisals
  • Insurance Appraisals
  • Estate Appraisals
  • Assistance With Selling
  • Research and Authentication
  • Owner's Biography
  • Contact
  • Appraisals Blog