Touching on the topic of Victorian revival—basically, jewelry that has a Victorian look but was made well after the Victorian era—I shared some thoughts on garnets in fine and faux jewelry in another Worthpoint feature. Bohemian garnets were mined and hand-cut in an area of what is now the Czech Republic. Imitations of those Victorian gems were later produced using garnet-colored glass, making that a great place to start when learning about Victorian revival styles. Florenza is a personal favorite when it comes to costume jewelry of this type made during the 1950s and ‘60s.
There are many other Victorian revivals to consider, including cameos, slide bracelets, and book chain necklaces. Each category has specific features that help distinguish older pieces from newer ones. However, it’s more important to understand the general characteristics of Victorian jewelry. With this knowledge, you can make informed purchasing decisions on the spot and later conduct more detailed research using your reference library and other research tools.
FINDINGS TO LOOK FOR IN VICTORIAN JEWELRY
Many distinguishing characteristics in Victorian jewelry were later incorporated into revival styles. These traits can range from mourning motifs and the use of black materials to various styles like festoon necklaces and engraved bangle bracelets. When talking nuts and bolts in terms of identifying revivals, it often comes down to the findings. Here are some findings to look for that can help you decide if a piece is indeed Victorian.
Brooches and Pins
If you’ve researched a Victorian brooch before, the first thing you may have noticed is an older type of pin closure called a “C” clasp. These were widely used before lever clasps and safety clasps were introduced in the early 1900s. Opposite the clasp, you will usually find a tube hinge, the precursor to the modern riveted hinge seen after 1900.
A key point to remember, especially with fine jewelry, is that those old clasps were sometimes replaced with safety catches to make them more secure decades after they were made. Sometimes, the hinges were updated as well. If you see signs that a new clasp and/or hinge have been added to what seems like an older style of jewelry, look at the materials and the way any stones are cut and set to garner a few more clues.
Earrings
When examining earrings, don’t assume that all pierced earrings are modern designs or that the backs aren’t original. It was common for women to have pierced ears in the Victorian era. Both loop wires and hinged clasps were used in the 1800s on a wide array of earrings. Threaded post-earrings were also used in the late 1800s. However, pierced Victorian earrings are getting harder and harder to find in the wild, so you’re more likely to run into pierced revival designs.
Necklaces
Some of the clasps used to fasten Victorian jewelry, including spring rings, look a lot like modern findings. The difference is that the older ones are bigger and usually attached to large linked chains like book chains.
Another large round clasp used even earlier in the 1800s was the bolt ring, which doesn’t have a little nib to open and close the clasp like a spring ring.
Later in the decade, daintier chain necklaces used clasps with a small tube that fit inside a barrel and other variations of tube clasps.
Bracelets
Just as with revival styles, tongue-and-groove catches were used quite often in the Victorian era. Wrap-style bracelets, including some with hinged mechanisms, can also be found. Clasps shaped like hearts and locks that were removable with a key also kept Victorian chain bracelets secure.
CLUES THAT YOUR JEWELRY IS VICTORIAN REVIVAL
If the jewelry you’re researching has a Victorian motif but doesn’t quite fit the mold in terms of the findings noted above, or it just seems too new, it could very well be a revival piece. Some companies specialized in making revival jewelry, like Pididdly Links, 1928 Jewelry Co., and Sweet Romance. Beyond those brands, there are some other key attributes of Victorian revivals to keep in mind.
Modern Clasps and Findings
If there are no signs of alteration, a safety clasp on a brooch is a sure sign that your piece isn’t true Victorian. One of the exceptions is the European trombone clasp, which was used in the 1800s. Most costume jewelry found with a trombone clasp will not date before 1900, but some fine jewelry will, so look for other clues that prove it’s an older piece.
Other newer earring findings include screw backs and clip backs. Once pierced ears fell out of fashion at the very end of the Victorian era, more and more screw backs were used on earrings. Some Victorian pierced earrings were converted into screw backs, but from the 1920s through the ‘40s they were quite common. Clip-back earrings became popular in the mid-1930s, and by the 1950s, they were used more frequently than screw-backs. Pierced earrings came back in fashion in the 1960s and have remained popular since then. You’ll find Victorian revival styles with all these types of backings.
Signs of Mass Production
Many jewelry pieces were made by hand during the early- and mid-Victorian periods, including hair jewelry, shell cameos, and mourning jewelry carved from jet and other natural materials. As the era continued, more machine-made goods were introduced, but even some had hand engraving or stones set by hand.
Looking for those types of handcrafted details can offer clues about the age of jewelry with Victorian motifs. In comparison, modern costume jewelry is often made of base metal that is either gold—or silver-plated. Victorian jewelry may be gold-filled or made of rolled gold, but it doesn’t have the same cookie-cutter look.
Manmade Materials
As mentioned, many true Victorian pieces were crafted using carved gemstones or natural materials like coral. While glass (sometimes called French jet) was used to imitate fashionable black materials in the late Victorian period, it is common for Victorian revivals to have molded glass stones decorating them. The glass stones include examples simulating turquoise, amethyst, and various other gems. Victorian revival motifs can even be found in Bakelite jewelry dating to the 1930s, and later, plastics were used to create elements like cameos set in plated metalwork.
Learning as much as you can about true Victorian jewelry is paramount to separating those older pieces from revival designs made much later. That knowledge will also help you pick the right keywords to describe Victorian revival pieces accurately when you decide to list them for sale.
Pamela Siegel is a freelance writer and author who has been educating collectors for more than two decades. In addition to three books on topics relating to antiques and collectibles, she frequently shares her expertise through online writing and articles for print-based publications. Pamela is also the co-founder of Costume Jewelry Collectors Int’l (CJCI) and the proprietor of Chic Antiques by Pamela.
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