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Before the death of Prince Albert, jewellery was viewed as a metaphor for the mourning process and meant particular gems and colors were acceptable. Widows were expected to follow certain protocol when it came to their jewellery selection in the mourning period. In particular, jet, ivory, and pearl jewellery were common for a good grieving widow. Jet, being black, was a well perceived color for mourning. Ivory was allowed, as it is colorless. Pearls held a double meaning in Victorian culture as they represented both tears and beauty.

Mourning was expected to occur in waves. At first, one was expected to wear an unpolished jet, as it was the darkest black. The first stage of mourning varied in length, depending on one’s relationship with the deceased, but was generally between six and eight weeks. The second phase of mourning allowed for ivory and pearls, as well as gold, as they were colorless. Ivory and pearls were used to craft different pendants to create motifs. Ivory in mourning jewellery would be shaped into oak-spray with an acorn cup, representing the end of love when one dies. Pearls would be used to make crosses, a typical symbol for death.

A typical aspect of Victorian memoirs is the cutting off of hair on one’s deathbed. Victorians believed giving hair to someone was a deeply intimate act. A hair memento would be taken and generally woven, then placed into a locket or laid in a sheet, glaxzed, and then cut into a different shape. The hair would become a private piece of jewellery or used as a public piece of art in one’s home.

After the death of Prince Albert in 1861, jewellery evolved to represent more harsh and dismal ideas. (from original wiki article) Queen Victoria went into her infamous period of mourning, and with that, the role of jewellery changed. Black became a more normalized color for daily wear Fashion papers, almost immediately following Prince Albert’s death, began coming up with suggestions for fashionable forms of mourning jewellery. It became almost vogue to wear black and mourning jewellery, as many tried to imitate the fashion of the widowed Queen.