Early Victorian Jewelry

Mourning jewelry was jewelry that commemorated the death of a loved one or of a famous person. Mourning jewelry was also called sentimental or memorial jewelry.  Black was the symbolic color usually worn in medieval times and during the Victorian Period of intense mourning. The color black was used in brooches such as black cameos, portrait pins and brooches with compartments for a lock of hair from an absent love. ...

You have your heart set on an estate opal ring or a vintage opal ring surrounded by diamonds.  To follow is information about this luxury stone, the white opal. The background of your white opal ring would be translucent white to gray in color that shows a play of color when tilted back and forth. Commercial grade opal will look “pale and cloudy yellow or brownish with faint, scattered play...

A cameo brooch is an ornamental piece of jewelry that is attached to clothing or worn as a pendant.  Most brooches had a fixture in the back making it possible to wear it as a brooch or pendant.  Brooches were and are normally made of metals like gold and silver. Cameo brooches have been popular from ancient to current times. They were made out of shell or hardstone such as...

Imitation Rubies Like other colored stones, rubies have their share of fake stones.  They are general made out of pieces of rocks or glass.  They are have been and are currently made into ruby jewelry such as antique ruby rings, ruby engagement rings, ruby bracelets and necklaces. According to the Gemological Institute of America, “Imitations differ from synthetics in that the material used for imitations is not of the same...