Victorian / Edwardian

The sheer inventiveness and craftsmanship of Victorian and Edwardian goldsmiths still has the power to amaze over 100 years later!

Influences came from all over the Empire, and led to a huge variety of styles from Etruscan or Egyptian revival pieces to architectural elements or pieces inspired by the natural world.

The Victorian coral-set mourning bangle is a classic piece in the Etruscan revival style of the late 19th Century. In 15ct gold (an older standard that is no longer hallmarked), it includes a removable glass back to store a picture or a lock of hair from a loved one.

Brooches were very popular in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and we have some wonderful examples, including this diamond, gold and silver star brooch. Before the Edwardians developed the techniques and the tools to work platinum, silver was usually used as the white metal of choice.

The pendants in this collection are from the Edwardian era. Although a short reign (1901 - 1910) it is usually taken as a period of jewellery manufacture between 1901 and the start of the First World War, and it was a time when many of the modern jewellery techniques were developed and mastered, including millegraining (the texturing of setting edges) and openwork setting - jewellery pieces began to take on a lighter, more filigree style.

The Art Nouveau style of these pendants tends towards floral and foliate designs, always elegant but made to last down the centuries.