Antique Victorian Mourning 14k Rose Gold French Jet Paste Pearl Flower Earrings

Why You'll Love It. Tiny truly shines in this Victorian treasure. Take a closer look at these delicate antique mourning earrings as they tell the symbolic tale of. Through their forget-me-not flower motif.

Meaningful and decorative, the subtle burgundy of the paste adds a touch of emanating color that contrasts with the luminous central seed pearl. The 14k rose gold setting is a marvel of craftsmanship-note the buttercup setting at the focal point-made all the more remarkable by the truly miniature size. Bright patina with minimal surface wear to the setting.

Fresh sheen, light surface wear, and no chipping on the glass. Symbolism in antique and vintage jewelry is common, yet it can be hard to spot if you don't know what you're looking for. Often, specific natural gemstones, flowers, birds, and motifs like stars and anchors were imbued with meanings that have fallen out of present-day society's collective memory. To appreciate the power of symbols in antique jewelry is to imagine what it would have been like to wear the piece and step back into history. Mourning jewelry from the Georgian and Victorian eras were special, custom pieces designed in the memory of a deceased loved one.

While many mourning pieces used dark materials like natural onyx or jet to convey grief, they were often surprisingly hopeful, as the majority of the western world believed they would one day be reunited with their loved one in the afterlife. Pieces incorporated symbols that represented this hope or the characteristics of their loved one, as well as locks of hair or small portraits.

Today, collecting and wearing antique mourning jewelry is to honor the memory of a real person and appreciate the sentimentality of a bygone era. _gsrx_vers_1536 GS 9.4 (1536).

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