Jewellery can be many things – practical, decorative, symbolic. But often, it holds something more: a deep, tactile connection to those who came before, and a centuries-old tradition of carrying love through loss.
Thin, soft, and dull, the plain gold band looked unremarkable. Yet for its reluctant new custodian, these visible signs of wear and tear reflected the life of a remarkable woman whose hands had borne many years of rinsing out cloth nappies, washing up after every family meal, and cleaning other people’s houses. Those hands had also given a gentle squeeze of reassurance on the first day of school, confidence after another teenage heartbreak, and comfort after the death of a beloved father.
Down the decades and across the globe, many will have experienced similarly powerful emotions upon inheriting an item of jewellery. A ring, watch, or necklace is, after all, so much more than the financial value of its metals, stones, and craftsmanship. It’s a connection to those who have gone before, often symbolising love or devotion. As well as inherited items, however, this power is represented in mourning jewellery, which enjoyed huge popularity between the 17th and 20th centuries. It was created to honour a deceased ruler or loved one – and later came to be a profitable industry – but it’s the humanity at its core that connects it, and us, to a timeless tradition.
Religious and secular roots
Religion played a particularly significant role after the resolution of the great schism in the 13th century – ecclesiastical jewellery was a precursor to pieces being worn both to honour the life of a loved one and express the wearer’s faith and values. Such pieces were popular among the devout and included figures such as the Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist, or references to them.
While earlier religious jewels reflected the belief that heaven was the reward for living a life of piety, conversely, mourning rings engraved with skeletons and the Latin text memento mori, which translates as ‘remember you must die’, later reminded those left behind to cherish their time with loved ones on Earth.
One of the earliest-known examples of a memento mori mourning ring dates back to the late 15th century. It has skulls either side of a heart, a worm, and the name ‘Iohes Godefroy’ engraved around the hoop. Bones and symbols denoting decay were a common reminder of humanity’s ephemeral existence.
Other secular examples followed the controversial execution of King Charles I in 1649, after a bitter dispute between royalists and parliamentarians. His death resulted in a surge of memorial jewellery, as fragments of his hair and shreds of his bloodied shirt were placed within commemorative pieces. Lockets encasing his portrait were also worn as talismans by his devotees, who kept them hidden to avoid persecution by the law.
The locket had been popularised in the previous century, and the rise of portraiture added to the trend of wearing depictions of loved ones close to the heart, with so-called miniature portraits worn outwardly, as an expression of one’s allegiance, or within a locket, as a private token of devotion. After Queen Elizabeth I’s death in 1603, for example, her diamond ring was discovered to have a secret compartment in which she kept a picture of her mother, Anne Boleyn.
Creative symbolism in mourning jewellery
These miniature portraits and images inspired a new era of symbolism, representing both love and grief. Scenes included the bereaved as well as the deceased, with the latter’s name often engraved on the item. Rings, lockets, brooches, and hair slides might also have contained lattices of the deceased’s hair, a tactile as well as a biological reminder of a person’s life. Lovers, meanwhile, often chose to commission or create pieces that used locks from them both, as a sign of eternal love.
Artists and jewellery makers also used human hair to create funereal images, such as weeping willows. Other images of the time included cherubs, urns, ships, and anchors, the last two representing passage for the departed and hope for the bereaved. They were commonly carved from jet, but white enamel represented a maiden or child, while pearls sometimes symbolised tears for the loss of a child.
Personal remembrance and the value of a lock of hair
Jewellery historian Hayden Peters, from the UK, began collecting Victorian jewellery while visiting antiques stores when he was young. Now a curator of mourning jewels, as well as the developer of online teaching platform The Art of Mourning, he says: ‘I saw a ring that said “in memory of” for [a woman called] Mary Ann Lewis, who passed away in 1853. I thought it was the most loving thing someone could do for anyone. If their memory is alive, so are they.’ For Hayden, it’s the personal message that makes these pieces valuable. In his view, ‘a lock of hair is more important than any diamond.’
Queen Victoria might well have agreed. Plunged into deep mourning by the death of the Prince Consort, Albert, in 1861, she committed to wear mourning dress for the rest of her days and was never without a locket containing her late husband’s hair.
The value placed on the lock of a loved one’s hair is also seen in literature. For example, in Charles Dickens’ 1838 novel, Oliver Twist, the orphan’s late mother has a locket containing two locks of hair and a plain gold wedding ring – a literary motif for his identity. And in Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff places some of his own hair in Catherine’s locket as she lies waiting for burial, suggesting his longing for a reunion in the afterlife.
Mourning rituals and changing times
Up until the 19th century, in England, elaborate bereavement formalities had been largely limited to the aristocratic and affluent, but economic and industrial advances meant mourning accessories slowly became accessible to those further down the economic ladder and, for some, they offered greater social acceptance and a stronger sense of identity.
‘Having a pauper’s funeral in the mid-19th century was considered shameful for the family’, explains Hayden, ‘even when they struggled to conform to the two-and-a-half-year standard of mourning dress and behaviour. High mortality rates, increasing urbanisation, and industrialisation led to commercial production of such pieces, as well as a greater demand to be seen in society wearing it.’
Modern memorial jewellery and emotional ties
Jewellery designer Lora Leedham is often asked to remodel the jewellery of deceased loved ones. ‘People feel comforted by wearing pieces that preserve memories,’ she says. ‘Jewellery helps the wearer feel close or connected to the person whose memory they wish to preserve. When customers bring me a jewellery box full of pieces, they will always pull out each item and remember the memory attached – who had bought it for them, when they had it, what it symbolised…
‘It’s emotional, and I have a huge responsibility to get it right, which is why I regularly take photos [of my work] and keep the person updated along the way. That way, they can see the journey of their sentimental pieces. Hopefully, one day, they will also be passed on and may start another journey again.’
Although a far cry from antique lockets, contemporary memorial and sentimental jewellery – from redesigned heirlooms and fused wedding bands to dried forget-me-nots and ashes suspended in time – carries the same message: love knows no bounds, even in death.
Memorial jewellery customs from around the world
Different customs, old and new, from around the globe.
French sentimentality
While 19th-century England was overcome with dramatic mourning jewellery, continental Europeans were taken by more genial “sentimental jewellery”. Popular designs included “Regard” pieces, thought to originate from French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Mellerio in the late 18th century. The sentiment of “Regard”, or “to remember”, was created through the use of gemstones beginning with the same letter – ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, ruby, and diamond. Variations included “J’adore” and “Dearest”.
Roman influence
The Victorians may have taken it to their hearts, but they weren’t the first to display a fondness for jet. It was heralded by ancient Roman philosophers for its protective qualities – reports tell of jet amulets being discovered in ancient grave sites across Britain and continental Europe. Gorgoneia, carvings of the gorgons of Greek myth, with snakes for hair, were dated around the 3rd and 4th century CE and indicate funerary rites to ensure protection in the afterlife.
South Korean honour
Ancient beliefs play a part in the relatively modern South Korean custom of “funeral beads”, a popular way to honour late loved ones. Some families choose to turn ashes into colourful, glossy beads which are kept in glass containers or dishes. While not worn as jewellery, the eye-catching gems allow families to keep watch over a loved one and ensure passage to the afterlife, which is considered an important responsibility from ancient times.
Swiss innovation
Over the past decade, technological advances have enabled the creation of cremation or memorial diamonds. Developed by Swiss company Algordanza, the gems are created by applying heat and pressure to ashes and hair, following a similar formula to that used in crafting diamonds.
Words: Cat Thompson
This article was originally published under the title Setting the past in Issue 54 – As You Are. View Magazine
