Victorian Jewelry Eras: The Early or Romantic Period
June 3, 2026
The Early (Romantic) Victorian Era
Much loved and sought after, Victorian Jewelry is named after England’s Queen Victoria. It is often categorized into three periods that represent what was happening in her life. The three periods are the Early or Romantic, the Middle or Grand, and the Late Victorian or Aesthetic periods. In this post we show some examples and describe the Romantic Period jewelry style.
- The Early Victorian or Romantic Period (1837 – 1860) was typified by jewelry given with sentiment or meaning behind it and that was feminine in style. It covers the time period of Queen Victoria’s courtship and early marriage to Prince Albert.
- Nature inspired floral motifs and symbolic themes were popular as were snakes (that symbolize eternal love and wisdom), hearts, flowers, branches, ivy leaves, grapes, berries, trees, birds and bows. Symbolism associated with flowers was a common theme. Popular pieces would have been rings, brooches, bracelets, lockets and cameos. Yellow gold was prevalent, often of a higher carat such as 18k. Popular gemstones of the time would include garnets, turquoise, coral, seed pearls, onyx, agate, amber, amethyst, emeralds, quartz and diamonds.
In our shop:
Belmar Jewelers
Belmar Jewelers Named Best Jeweler in the February Reader's Choice Awards!
Belmar Jewelers Featured in the Asbury Park Press! Belmar jeweler uses encyclopedic knowledge and experience to appraise pieces.
Welcome to our blog! This is our first post and we started this blog to share information about our passion - vintage and estate jewelry! There is so much history, are so many styles and types of jewelry and customs that involve jewelry. We'd like to share some fun, interesting and enlightening facts and stories as well as beautiful photos with you. And we'll also share some things that we have to offer since, after all, that's what we're all about! Thanks for joining us here at Belmar Jewelers! We're so glad you're here! You may have noticed that we use a cameo image to represent our store. We feel that the cameo woman in profile is an iconic representation of vintage jewelry. So many of our customers come into the shop, see that we have cameos for sale and say my mother, aunt or grandmother had a cameo. Yes, cameos are not worn prolifically like they once were. In fact, many "gold buyers" purchase them only for their gold value and disassemble them, sadly ruining many beautiful pieces. But we are an estate (meaning pre-owned) jewelry store. Almost all of the jewelry we sell is estate and we have a special place in our hearts for vintage and antique pieces. So we don't just melt them down, we try to find them a new home where they will be cherished. And that's why we have not only a retail shop in Belmar, NJ but also sell online. You can shop on this website and we have an online Belmar Jewelers Etsy shop where we sell vintage (at least twenty years old) and antique (100 years or older) items. It's good for the planet to reuse and recycle and there's just something so special about the styles, workmanship and quality of these pieces. It makes us happy to give them a new life and a second chance! In case you didn't already know, in addition to visiting our website and blog, you can also spend time with us at: ♦ Our online Etsy store: www.etsy.com/shop/BelmarJewelers ♦ Facebook - www.facebook.com/belmarjewelers ♦ Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/belmarjewelers ♦ Instagram - @belmarjewelers Click below to visit, follow and like us. Looking forward to this next part of our journey!
