19th century jewelry

In this category we wanted to group together the jewels of the 19th century and those of the Napoleon III period. You will find jewels of the first Empire, of the Restoration, of the Napoleon III period. In England the classification is simpler: Georgian era at the beginning of the 19th century and Victorian era for the end of the 19th.

The jewels of the second half of the 19th century are rich jewels, intended for an elite of the time. Many stones, many diamonds. The discovery of the Premier mine in South Africa (later renamed the Cullinan mine after the discovery of the largest rough diamond in the world) and its immense quantity of diamonds made this stone accessible to a whole wealthy bourgeoisie. We also find a lot of enameled jewels from this period.

As in England, sentimental jewelry also had a large place in the 19th century. These were jewels that were made in memory of a loved one or a deceased person. Often these creations bore inscriptions or symbols, or even elements recalling the person for whom this jewel was intended. This could be hair or even sometimes teeth. Mourning jewelry from the Napoleon III era was often made of yellow gold and black stone (onyx, jet).

In the context of love, we find hidden messages, flaming hearts but also locks of hair, names. And they often include words like “friendship” or illustrations of pansy flowers “Think of me”. The richness of the jewelry from this period can be found in the 19th century jewelry selection from Maison Mohs.