Victorian agate jewelry

VICTORIAN, SCOTTISH & PEBBLE & AGATE JEWELRY

Victorian jewelry is as complex in it\’s symbolism, sentiment and design as the fashion, architecture and decor of the time. Worn as an ornament, a love token or a remembrance, both the costume and fine jewelry of the era not only completed the well-dressed lady\’s attire but also denoted her position in society, her marital status and her sense of self.

Since the Victorian era stretched over six decades, many types of jewelry came and went in vogue. Mass production made jewelry available to the widest number of buyers in the broadest range of designs ever seen before in history. When it came to formal occasions, the \”more is better\” theme of the Victorian era carried over into how jewelry was worn by royalty and the aristocracy. Paintings of Queen Victoria and other royals at state occasions show multiple brooches, swags, earrings, bracelets and hair ornaments. But the jewelry of the everyday woman is collectible, fascinating and a lesson in history that enchants us even today.

The popularity of Victorian stone or \”pebble\” jewelry encouraged by Queen Victoria and it began as a souvenir of her trips to Scotland. From the mid-1880s Queen Victoria frequented Scotland and her Scottish castle, Balmoral, and Scotland became a popular place to view the sites, with Scottish dress and jewelry being fashionable, too. By the later 1800s it was being made in England and Germany as well.