Early Victorian Vintage Jewelry Period

The Victorian era of jewelry spans such a long period of time that it is often broken down into three specific periods. However, the transitions between these three periods weren't sudden and each individual piece of jewelry can show influences from several or all of the Victorian jewelry periods. As a result it can be hard to name certain types of Victorian jewelry.

During the Victorian jewelry era, Queen Victoria had a great influence on fashion and jewelry styles. This influence was no more noticeable than during the early years of her reign. Both the beginning of the Victorian era and the end of the Georgian era is covered in a style known as Ferronieres. This was chains or ribbons that had a center jewel which was supposed to be worn on the forehead. Queen Victoria not only owned several but she was also known to give them out as gifts.

Another type of style that transcended the two periods was a delicate and fragile type of jewelry made up of hundreds of seed pearls sewn into a template of mother-of-pearl with white horsehair. These pieces of vintage Victorian jewelry were time consuming to create and were also very expensive. Repairs were tedious and had to be treated with care when worn. This jewelry was briefly popular in the late 1800s and then disappeared.

During the early Victorian era fashion moved away from the early styles of body-hugging dresses. Skirts became wide and were often supported by hoops made of wood and wire. The bodices and waists were tight and jewelry was often worn to the point of excess. Multiple bracelets were popular along with brooches, necklaces, earrings and rings. Queen Victoria was known for wearing lots of rings sometimes even multiple rings on a single finger. Although hard to find, Victorian era jewelry offers vintage jewelry collectors plenty of beautiful choices to choose from.

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