Victorian Earrings, that is earrings made during the time period that Queen Victoria of England ruled are rare. During  the early period of  her reign  (1840-60) earrings were  considered very unfashionable. The Fashion of the times  dictated that a lady cover her ears so as not to appear to unduly forward.

By the mid 19th Century earrings were once again fashionable. Earrings were appropriate  for day, as well as evening. They were bold and made from a variety of materials. The  earrings below are crafted of tortoise shell and 14kt gold.

Victorian earring in original condition are pierced. It is not until the turn of the 19th Century that we find non pierced earrings.

 The creation of non pierced earring backs must have created quite a sensation. I imagine that the new invention was embraced by the fashion forward woman of the day.The piercing  of ones ears in the early 20th Century gradually fell from fashion.In the United States  it was not an uncommon perception that only gypsies and women of questionable virtue pierced their ears. 

One rarely finds similar pairs of Victorian Earrings. They are a fun item of antique jewelry to hunt for and what collector doesn’t enjoy the hunt!  Happy collecting! If you are looking for something specific, we can help you at Beauchamp Jewelers.

If you love Antique jewelery (Jewelry that is at least 100 years old) You may have been lucky enough to come across a quintessential  piece of Victorian jewelery known as Micro Mosaic jewelery. (see figure 1 ) Pieces such as this lovely locket were all the rage, especially  for those that traveled abroad.  Italian artisans created these mosaics and they were purchased by tourists as souvenirs of their tours.  The images were created using small pieces of  cut glass known as tesserae.  The tiny sections of glass were painstakingly assembled to create beautiful images.  Jewelers would than  set these small mosaics into  jewelery.

Earlier examples of mosaic jewelry often depict images of Roman ruins and architectural motifs.  Later 19th Centuary mosaics tend toward  more  romatic images such as flowers.

The quality of workmanship in creating the mosaics as well as setting them in jewelry varies. Artist such Castellani were masters of this type of work. His creations were sought after in his day. Today a signed Castellani piece can fetch a handsome price. Compare the Mosaic work on figures 1 and 2 to that of  number 3.

Notice how much smaller the tesserae is cut in figures 1 and 2. Although the locket ( figure 3 ) is lovely, it is not nearly as fine as in the previous examples.

Fine quality Micro Mosaic work in is not commonly found.  It is always such a pleasure to find quality pieces in really good condition, especially when you think that this work was created by artists well over one hundred years ago. For those of you that are addicted to collecting, Micro Mosaic jewelry is not only beautiful but wearable art and it speaks so eloquently of a gentler time. Happy Collecting to you!

All three items pictured above are available at Beauchamp Jewelers along with many other pieces of antique jewelry from the Victorian Period, and other Eras as well.