Victorian Jewelry Eras: The Middle or Grand Period
Joe Carl • June 17, 2026
Victorian Jewelry Eras: The Middle or Grand Period
Much loved and sought after, Victorian Jewelry is named after England’s Queen Victoria and 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 jewelry style of the Grand Period.
- The Mid-Victorian or Grand Period (1861–1885) followed the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, at age forty-two after twenty-one years of marriage. Queen Victoria entered a long period of mourning and the jewelry style changed from delicate to bolder and heavier, more somber designs and was often darker in color. Mourning jewelry became fashionable as were classically themed styles inspired by ancient, Renaissance or Gothic designs. Popular designs included urns, weeping willows, crosses, insects such as flies, butterflies, dragonflies and beetles and monogrammed initials. Hair jewelry was also popular (made from the hair of a loved one). Popular pieces included earrings, brooches, bracelets, necklaces and lockets. Yellow gold was still prevalent but was sometimes of a lower karat (9k, 12k or 15k) and silver saw a resurgence. Jewelry made of jet (fossilized coal), black onyx, with black enamel details, pearls or ivory was common.
Belmar Jewelers
The Early (Romantic) Victorian Era
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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!
