Trendlet Alert: Why 19th Century Mourning Jewelry Is Back In Style

By Leah Chernikoff
August 2, 2011

Jewelry has been on a Victorian, steampunk-y kick lately. Symbolism from bygone eras (think anchors, wishbones, leaves and bows) with a Gothic bent (those ubiquitous skulls) are showing up on delicate charms around dainty necklaces and on tiny stud earrings. Giles and Brother's highly coveted nautical charms come to mind. So do the oversized engraved and enameled lockets you can find everywhere from Anthropologie to Urban Outfitters.

So it makes sense that Victorian mourning jewelry, defined technically as jewelry by a woman in mourning (usually for the year following the death of a loved one), is making a bit of a comeback.

The Hairpin

Antique jewelry shop Eerie Basin in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where mourning jewelry is popular

Edith Zimmerman, who edits the popular women's blog "The Hairpin" devoted a post to mourning jewelry that was so popular she created a spin-off column about estate jewelry for the site. "I just think mourning jewelry is lovely, both aesthetically and the concept of them," says Zimmerman. "A sort of 'living' grave that's also beautiful. Sort of like the old-fashioned version of getting a tattoo of a dead loved one's initials.

Russell Whitmore, who owns the carefully curated antique jewelry boutique Eerie Basin in Red Hook, Brooklyn, says he's seen an increased demand for mourning jewelry ever since he began stocking it. "People are fascinated by it," says Whitmore. "I have some customers who collect mourning jewelry."

So what is it exactly that has Whitmore's customers so fascinated? Mourning jewelry is a broad category of baubles, one that spans from the Georgian period to the Victorian era when it was most popular. Sure, some of it is dark, as you'd expect—broaches, pendants and rings set with onyx, for example—but much is more delicate, with painstakingly painted-on images of urns and weeping willows, which, Whitmore explains, are neoclassical representations of mourning. "In the Georgian stuff, they have this neoclassical style that was supposed to look like Greek and Roman stuff," Whitmore explains. "In the 19th century, it's more gothic, but it's also really beautiful and contains powerful symbolism. A lot of the symbols are things that appeal to people's tastes right now."

The Hairpin

1860s Hair Work Acorn Charm; Mid 1800s Mourning Ring from Eerie Basin

Rings and charms on necklaces often have personal sentimental inscriptions to their dearly departed. Many examples of mourning jewelry even incorporate the plaited hair of the deceased—under the crystal of a ring, for example—which can turn some folks off. "I occasionally have someone that comes in and I tell them that it's hair and they're horrified and put it down very quickly, but most people see that's it a beautiful thing," says Whitmore. "I've sold a few mourning rings as engagement rings—there's something very romantic about them—the saving of a lock of hair and the inscriptions. It's all about love and sentimentality."

Not surprisingly, eBay, where sales for jewelry items with the term "mourning" are up 21 percent in the past month compared to one year ago and average price is up 29 percent in the same period, is a great place to find these sentimental gems. In fact, there's a whole category devoted to "Mourning Jewelry." Channel your dark side and dive in.