What Did The Victorians Ever Do For Brooch Fashion?

The Victorian era is often seen as a grim and austere time, a period of stiff upper lips and grim city streets epitomised by Dickensian novels and Marxist calls for revolution. To think of it as a period of flourishing jewellery styles might seem incongruous.

However, such stereotypes are difficult to sustain. The Victorian period was, after all, a time that lasted for 64 years and saw a myriad of changes. The world of 1901 was much different to that of 1837.

In one respect, the Victorian era can be neatly split into two. Pre-1861, women would wear romantic brooches featuring flowers, animals, hearts and lockets. Then Prince Albert died and the monarch who wore black for the rest of her life also inspired the use of mourning brooches, which were heavier and used black materials like jet and onyx.

If what constituted a statement brooch in the later Victorian years was a somewhat morose affair, we may look to the earlier days for more inspiration.

According to the Gem Society, the early Victorian era coincided with the Romantic period. During this time, the romance between the royal couple was a major influence, but so too was industrialisation and this impacted jewellery by bringing about an era of mass production and less handcrafting.

Even so, in these years several metalworking styles that were well-established stayed in vogue, such as repousse and cannatille. Love knots were popular motifs, but so too were eyes, hands, crosses, clovers, leaves, vines and anchors. Atavistic elements included the revived popularity of gothic and medieval styles.

Popular gems in use were also types common to us today, including diamonds, emeralds, quartz and amethysts.  

While this may represent a time of great style, the absence of unique styles without precedent marks a contrast with the de novo approach to innovation and technological advancement that epitomised much of the Victorian era.

Of course, brooches were only worn by women in those days. But what is clear is that Victorian styles were not so exclusive that men sporting brooches won’t find echoes of this time – and those before it – in what they wear now.