Antique Georgian Jewellery
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Georgian Jewellery – Historical background
The Georgian era is strictly from 1714 to 1830 when the various King Georges and a Prince regent took their turns at ruling Britain. Following the Georgians was the brief reign of William IV who lasted until 1837. In other words the Georgian era is the 100+ years leading up to the reign of Queen Victoria.
The Georgian era is roughly the same time as the Industrial Revolution which played a significant part in the development of Jewellery. Before the Industrial Revolution at the beginning of the Georgian era Jewellery was hand made by craftsman. Lots of wonderful new machines and techniques were developed as part of industrialisation and so as the Era went on more and more Jewellery became made by machine – or at least parts of it were. This meant that greater quantities of Jewellery could be made and it became cheaper and more widely available.
So, Georgian Jewellery was the first in history to have any element of mass production and that is why we can still find some pieces at an affordable price today. Of course, there were some wonder full craftsman made pieces in the Georgian era and some of these are extremely valuable and often seen in museums and private collections.
Popular Jewellery in the Georgian era
Due to the technological advances mentioned in my previous post the cutting of diamonds improved and they had more sparkle also new sources were discovered and so diamonds became more plentiful. New materials were invented such as Pinchbeck, Paste, Studded steel. Marcasites first made their popularity in Jewellery and Wedgwood invented the Jasper Cameo. ( more about these materials coming soon)
This Wedgwood Cameo ring is Victorian rather than Georgian but it shows the type of jasper cameo which was popular:
Classical shell cameos were also worn much as they are still seen today but probably with higher quality carvings!
Up until the 1790s the French Rocaille or Rococo style was popular in jewellery with its asymmetrically shapes. From this time onwards jewellery became simpler with dainty naturalistic flower shapes being popular. In the 1750s and 60s flower brooches made with colourful gemstones were in Vogue ( the gemstones often being foiled to add colour). Buckles and chatelaines were also very popular.
A couple more things to note about Georgian Jewellery – Gold would usually be 18 or 22 carat only. Stone settings were usually set in silver and the backs of the stones were closed at this time.