Victorian Jewelry was made during Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901) and originated in England. Queen Victoria created a status staple for women's jewelry during this time period. Through the amount of jewelry you’ve acquired, your identity is easily established as well as your social status. These highly sought-after jewels are said to be viewed as aesthetic objects in the western world. The desirability of these jewels was immaculate due to the true respect, monetary value and current trends within society. Jewelry also seemed to be a commodity that contributed to Victorian capitalism. Since these jewels were very expensive, the lower class could not be able to continue with this victorian status style. Any woman recognized with no jewelry would be classified into the working class, there was a strong assumption of not being able to afford it. The high demand of jewelry kicked into rapid manufacturing in the jewel industries and more inexpensive replicas were created for the middle class to obtain. Most women were wearing jewelry in the victorian era period, men did not wear jewels but had gifted them to the women they desired. During the early Victorian romantic period, gold material became a large staple for jewelry. Some common materials that were used were gold, ivory, tortoiseshell, coral, diamonds, amber, amethyst, etc, and used the themes of the natural world inspired by flowers, snakes, trees, and birds. 

My birthday was just yesterday and I now am nineteen years of age. My father has given me a beautiful jewelry ornament for this occasion, this is my first necklace jewelry since we are not of the higher class. I’ve always heard of the beautiful jewelry Queen Victoria wears, but I never knew it was this gorgeous. Father works in the jewel manufacture industry so he must’ve received this a bit inexpensive for a simple jewel necklace. Although my father is always working since demand from the higher class has gone up for these jewels. I’m beyond excited about my birthday ornament and very glad he could afford it. I can’t wait to show its beauty off to my friends and make them jealous with envy. The gold chain and amethyst jewel matches the current trend perfectly in my opinion. I also hope my dear friend George will also present me with a jewelry bracelet for my birthday when I go to meet him in a couple of days. I’ve always admired him and I dearly believe he feels the same towards me. I am glad I may not be made fun of anymore for identifying as a lower class through my lack of jewelry. This was most definitely one of the best birthdays yet.

Works Cited:

“Victorian Jewellery.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_jewellery. 

Eliot, George, and George Eliot. “Chapter I.” Middlemarch: a Study of Provincial Life, by George Eliot, New York and Boston H. M. Caldwell Company Publishers, 2015.