Unique Jewelry: Common Elements of Georgian Jewelry

Rings sometimes had a crowned heart design which were often intended as love tokens, symbolizing the power of love. In pieces containing diamonds, silver was often preferred over gold. It was thought that the white color of silver highlighted the whiteness of the diamonds. Silver could be the whole front of a piece or just be a small ring that encircled the stone. To protect the wearer from tarnish the back often didn't have silver covering the gold.

In stone-set pieces, closed backs were popular. Open backed stones weren't used until around the 1800s. Often foil was put behind the stones in order to reflect light, to change or even enhance the color of the stone. The backs of stones were often highly decorated with a variety of etchings.

A popular design was either a single stem or bouquet of flowers. Unlike the eras to follow, these unique jewelry designs weren't meant to duplicate nature or to be recognized as flowers. They were designed to be stylized and had a flat-looking appearance.

Georgian jewelry often used paste that was the same quality as the setting of the precious stones and were hand cut in order to fit the specific setting. Wearing paste wasn't considered cheating and it wasn't meant to fool anyone. In fact, sometimes you need a diamond tester in order to determine if a stone was a real diamond or just paste. Paste stones were often individually cut in order to fit the jewelry piece. A colored paste was rare and often more expensive than the regular white color.

Necklaces typically had rings on both end pieces where a ribbon could be threaded through and tied in a bow at the neck. It is nearly impossible to find these unique jewelry pieces in their original state and the ones you do find usually have clasps added. Brooches would typically be added to the ribbons in order to be worn as necklaces or bracelets.

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