Brooches: The Mainstay Of Victorian Era Jewelry

In the early years of the Victorian era, women's daytime clothing was very plain: dark colors, round necklines, button-front bodices, and floor length skirts.

Sometimes, a lace collar was the only ornamentation. So women used brooches to add a dash of flare to their plain garments.

Cameo Brooches

Cameo brooches were a favorite piece of Victorian jewelry, worn pinned to the center of the collar. The earliest cameo brooches were made of shell or banded agate stone. Craftsmen would carve the lighter, upper band of agate into relief with the darker layer of stone serving as the background. Victorian era cameo brooches were most often made from lava stone and are valued collectibles today.

Typical designs were a woman's face in profile, a cottage, bridge and girl at the well. The very wealthy could pay to have a customized image carved into their cameo, such as the portrait of a loved one.

Later on in the Victorian era, mass-produced cameo brooches were molded rather than carved, making them more affordable and as a result more popular than ever.

The Jubilee Brooch

In 1887, Queen Victoria celebrated 50 years on the throne and in honor of the occasion, the very elegant Jubilee brooch was created and sold to the public. These were gold-plated brooches in the shape of an open fan with the word "Jubilee" across it. (The fan motif still shows up frequently in contemporary Victorian jewelry reproductions. More information about the fan motif can be found at Fans )

Around the same time, bar pins were also enjoying great popularity. These simple pin brooches held the two sides of the lady's collar together at the throat. They often featured images of fans (likely inspired by the Jubilee brooch), animals, birds, insects, and horshoes.

As the 19th century and the Victorian era began to wind down, women's clothing became more flamboyant, which meant less jewelry was needed to dress up an outfit. However, bar pins were still worn,as were delicate, round brooches of twisted gold.

Cameo brooches survived the Victorian era and continued to go in and out of style throughout the twentieth century. To this day, they are still one of the most in demand items of Victorian jewelry, both as collectibles and as wearable reproductions.

Written by: Joanmarie Moccia
Joanmarie is a designer of Victorian vintage jewelry and hat pins. She specializes in handcrafted jewelry reproductions such as Victorian era Pin Brooches, Necklaces, Earrings , and Hatpins.