Romancing The Past: Sentimental Jewelry
Romancing The Past: Sentimental Jewelry
Late 18th- and early 19th-century sentimental jewelry – wearable expressions of affection – with its poignant meanings, secret messages, and imagery, is a favorite among contemporary dealers and collectors. Adornments steeped in symbolism continue to be popular as these pieces touch our hearts and speak to our own hopes, dreams and desires. This jewelry captures the universal feeling of love and celebrates all types of this emotion, whether in romance, in friendship, or in the familial setting.
During the Georgian and Victorian periods, emotions and feelings could not be expressed freely like they are today or even during the next period in jewelry. Therefore, to express the budding of affection, romantic gestures, desire, passion, and true love, one would often send a gift with the symbolism it represented. Flowers were transformed from petal into metal and gemstones were turned into terms of endearment. Heartfelt and witty verses combined with symbolic motifs and messages to striking effect, producing wearable adornments that expressed intimate emotions and fiery romance as well as soulful mourning and memorial jewelry.
The sense of permanence that these pieces evoke is a welcome change from fleeting and impersonal communication through emojis, text messages, and social media. And there is something magical about wearing jewelry that connects the past to our own present and future.
For the purpose of this blog, we will focus on three major themes in sentimental jewelry: acrostic pieces, the Language of Flowers, and how imagery of the heart, Cupid, and snake speak to messages of love.
Jewelers of the day recalled ancient associations with healing powers and also were enamored with the emotional significance of different gemstones – for instance, ruby for passion, diamonds for eternal love, sapphires for fidelity, and emeralds for hope and prosperity. Most inventively, in a genre known as acrostic jewelry, pieces took the form of adorned love notes, with the first letter of each gem spelling out a term of affection. The most popular of such messages included:
REGARD – Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, Diamond
DEAR – Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby
DEAREST – Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz
LOVE – Lapis, Opal, Vermeil (a Georgian term for Garnet), Emerald
ADORE – Amethyst, Diamond, Opal, Ruby, Emerald
This style spread throughout Europe at the start of the 19th century after the French jeweler Jean-Baptiste Mellerio designed acrostic pieces for Napoleon Bonaparte for himself and to give to Empress Josephine, and then to his second wife, Empress Marie Louise. It is believed Mellerio was also a favorite of Marie Antoinette. He started with a ring using gems that spelled “J ’adore,” which is “I love” in French. Many of the pieces Napoleon Bonaparte commissioned had names, dates, and significant words and sayings.
In today’s market, items from the later Georgian and Regency era with rare designs, such as intricately detailed floral motifs on padlocks, or heart lockets with cannetille or repoussé work around the stones, are more expensive than the more customary stone- set rings of the Victorian era. But all can be found.
Luck or a knowledgeable dealer may lead you to an acrostic locket or ring with a pansy and the word ‘Regard’ spelled out. This conveys a double meaning, as the pansy’s name comes from the French pensée (thought), thus meaning ‘think of me’ or ‘think of the giver’
Gemstones would sometimes be used to mimic the meaning of a piece’s motif, even when no acrostic is present. For example, turquoise cabochon stones can be found set into forget-me-nots. Their color resembles the delicate blue of the flower’s petals, capturing the essence of its name – true love in life, remembrance or separation in mourning. These floral notes certainly exuded a sweet allure, which brings us to ...
The Language of Flowers which was a highly popular sentimental form of jewelry during the late Georgian and Early Victorian periods. Inspired by reports of a Turkish custom of communicating with flowers and other tokens, the idea of sending messages through blooms caught on throughout Europe. In 1819, Louise Cortambert, under the pseudonym Madame Charlotte de la Tour, penned what was reported to be the first dictionary of floral meanings, Le Language des Fleurs. The book was translated into English in 1820 and, by the early Victorian era, illustrated dictionaries of flowers were also being published.
These floral motifs were often combined with gemstones that carried similar symbolism, and the language of flowers blossomed into a range of jewelry that would come to represent various types of love and affection. In addition to pansies and forget-me-nots, there was a meaning for almost every bloom. Other plants that became key motifs of the period, and which are most in demand today, include: tulips (declaration of love), ivy leaves (fidelity, loyalty, and friendship), lilies of the valley (return of happiness), mistletoe (kisses and fertility), wheat sheaf (prosperity), daisies (purity and innocence) and blue violets (faithfulness) There is also an abundance of jewelry with various roses that connote different emotions associated with love. The most universally known is the red rose, which harks back to the Roman goddess Venus, and represents passionate love.
Victorian jewelers chose this and other such eloquent floral motifs to apply to rings, lockets, bracelets, and brooch/pendants, using colored gemstones, diamonds, and enameling to bring the botanicals to life.
Jewelry during this time also spoke from the heart, and it was recognized as the most iconic symbol of love. The adoption of the heart shape was first reported at the end of the Middle Ages. It gained popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries and soon became widely used in jewelry design. In both France and England, the allure of love was expressed through a wide range of heart motifs, which were applied to all classifications of antique jewelry.
Some of the myriad meanings included double hearts (‘our hearts beat as one’), witch’s hearts (‘to bewitch’), hearts pierced with arrows -always cupid’s arrow even if he wasn’t there: (‘love conquers all’ or ‘lovestruck’), winged hearts (‘protector of love’), crowned hearts (‘love triumphant’), double hearts with ribbons, bows or knots (‘two tied together as one’) and padlocks (‘locked in love’ – and with the addition of a key, it becomes ‘you hold the key to my heart’).
Just as the heart has endured, so has the serpent, which became one of the most recognized symbols of Victorian times after Queen Victoria received an entwined serpent engagement ring from Prince Albert with an emerald gemstone—the Queen’s birthstone in its head. Today’s collectors clamor for all different types of serpents and snake motifs in all forms of jewelry. Favorites include Victorian enameled and gem-set snake bracelets, and two particular types of snake rings – the ouroboros, in which the snake is eating its tail, and those in which the snake is entwined like a lover’s knot. Depending on how the ring is detailed- whether it was handmade, if it is hand-engraved with cross-hatching, if it is enameled; and the number and type of gemstones- you can find snake rings at every price point and in a range of different looks.
Cupid represents triumph over the obstacles of love. When he aims and shoots, the arrow pierces the heart, and one falls deeply in love – if it could only be that simple! Sometimes, Cupid is represented in jewelry only by an arrow through the heart, meaning that the gifter or recipient was ‘lovestruck’. During the early 20th century, a bow and arrow pointing towards the object of affection signified that an admirer wanted the subject (or target!) to desire them. Cupid’s history goes way back to the lore, legend and myths of Greco and Roman times. To go into the mythology of the gods and goddesses is an entire blog on its own, so I will end here…
All photos of pages courtesy of The Modern Guide to Antique Jewellery by Beth Bernstein (ACC Artbooks 2022)