Victorian Era Hair Jewelry

"Hair is at once the most delicate and lasting of our materials and survives us like love." Godey's Lady's Magazine, 1855.

Hair jewelry was a huge fashion hit during the Victorian era. Women would save locks of their own hair and hair from their husband or children to weave into ornate hair jewelry such as watch chains, bracelets and rings. These mementos would serve as a reminder of each other when they were apart or as a memorial to a deceased loved one.

What seems like an odd, even morbid, practice to us now was the norm for the very sentimental Victorians. Then, hair was the most personal gift you could possibly give someone; it was a symbol of permanence in an uncertain world.

But our fascination with hair goes back much earlier than the Victorian era. It dates back to ancient Egypt, when pharaohs and queens exchanged locks of hair as love tokens. And of course, Samson and Delilah were both well acquainted with the powerful nature of a long mane of hair. Even Napoleon's soldiers kept bits of his hair after his death to capture some of his power.

But it wasn't until the 16th century that the art of hair jewelry, or hairwork, was developed by the Swedes to keep them occupied during those long, cold winters. Even so, it took a tragic death in England to propel hair jewelry onto the international fashion scene.

Victorian Era Hair Jewelry

In 1861, Queen Victoria's beloved husband, Prince Albert, died. Overcome with grief, she decreed that only hair jewelry and dark mourning jewelry could be worn at court. The fashion caught on across the pond and American women began crafting hair jewelry or sending their hair to mail order services that would create a piece of hair jewelry for them.

The hairwork watch chain was the most popular, yours for a mere $4 in 1855. (Back then, women wore watch chains as men did.) Rings, breast pins, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces were also made with hair and accented with beads, jewels, gold or silver. These prized mementos of love are now worth hundreds or thousands of dollars on the antique market, depending on their condition.

And proof that everything that goes around comes around, the craft of hairwork is enjoying a sort of renaissance. A few hair artists have revived it and, for a price, will turn your locks of hair into items of hair jewelry, hair pictures for the wall, hair arrangements for the table, and even pendants made with your pet's fur.

Written by: Joanmarie Moccia
Joanmarie is a designer of Victorian vintage jewelry and hat pins. Her collection of handcrafted Victorian era reproductions includes Pin Brooches, Necklaces, Earrings , Hatpins , and Hair Jewelry (for hair, not made of hair!)