A few days ago I was talking about what makes a piece of Jewellery unusual or rare and once of the thing I mention is jewellery made from unusual materials:

Material Gold, silver, gold tone, pearls, diamante, diamonds and sapphires are all examples of matirials which are commonly found in jewellery. Much rarer ( although not necessarily more expensive ) would be jade, Lucite, fossils, wood or ceramic for example

This got me thinking about the rare materials in Antique and Vintage Jewellery. Antique or Vintage jewellery made from rare materials could become the theme for a great collection. Here are some I can think of

Jewellery Materials rare due to their age:

Some materials are only found occasionally in jewellery today because they are no longer used.  A good example of this is Pinchbeck which is type of artificial gold used in the Georgian and Victorian eras but the recipe for making it was lost when the original inventor died.  Other materials that are no longer used include Gutta Percha and some of the early plastics such as celluloid. Both of these have not stood the test of time well and it is now not common to find pieces in great condition.

Pinchbeck

Jewellery Materials Rare in Nature:

Diamonds although expensive are actually quite common unless you want an unusually large one. Other Gemstones are much rarer. Tanzanite for example has only been available recently and is only found in very limited quantities, in years to come when Tanzanite jewellery is vintage I suspect that it will be very rare and desirable. Natural sea pearls are very rare although cultured pearls are commonly used as a substitute and great for pearl necklaces. Whitby Jet and Blue John from Derbyshire come from very specific geographic areas . Supplies have now almost run out and vitnage jewellery made from both of these materials is now collected avidly.

Materials which are rare as they are difficult :

Its rare to find Platinum jewellery from before the Edwardian era as it needs such a high temperature to work the technology did not exist to work with this material.

Other materials are difficult to wear and so are not popular – copper unless it has been lacquered turns the skin green . Iron nails were made into jewellery during the 1970s most of this jewellery has now been thrown out as it went rusty on the skin. I’ve also seen beads made of paper which naturally are quite short lived as this deteriorates quickly.  Brooches and necklaces made from leather turn up occasionally but these do not wear well.

Materials rare because they are simply ugly or out of fashion.

Hair Jewellery used to be common and popular in the Victorian era, taste has changed . There is still plenty of hair available but we do not choose to make it into jewellery these days, some of us are a bit squeamish that way.  This also applies to teeth and claws which were popularly mounted as jewellery by the Victorians. Wood jewellery has been fashionable both during the 1930s / 1940s and again during the 1970s . This jewellery is craftsman made but does not seem to catch on for very long.

Whats the most unusual

material you have seen set into jewellery – would be great to find some I hadn’t thought of.

Happy Hunting

Anne x