Bog Oak, ancient wood jewellery

About Bog Oak Jewellery

Bog oak is a jewellery material widely used during the Victorian era in mourning jewellery.  Today you will normally find that jewellery made of bog oak is antique jewellery over 100 years old. Bog oak is fossilized wood and is also sometimes known as bog wood.  Most bog wood is made of oak trees which have been preserved in the peat bogs of Ireland for thousands of years. As it is from Ireland it is most commonly found with Irish motifs such as Shamrocks and harps.

Bog oak was cheap and plentiful during the Victorian era, it was easily carved and due to its dark black colour was popular in mourning  jewellery.  The bog oak can also be found set with tiny pearls or gold detail as in this brooch:

Bog oak brooch

 Today bog oak jewellery is collected alongside other Victorian black mourning Jewellery and would normally be cheaper than an equivalent Jet brooch.

Identifying Bog Oak jewellery:

You can tell Bog Oak from other Victorian mourning Jewellery materials by looking at the structure of the material. Bog oak is Matt not shiny and on careful examination you can see the wood grain.

Care of Bog oak Jewellery:

The surface of bog oak jewellery can get dusty so I suggest that you remove the dust with a soft brush, a large clean make up blusher brush is ideal for this. Do not try and polish bog oak jewellery as it is meant to be matt.

Buy antique jewellery made from Bog Oak:

AntiquesAvenue.co.uk will normally have one or two pieces of Antique Victorian bog oak jewellery available in the antique jewellery department. 

Victorian bog oak