Medieval Jewelry

An important technique in medieval jewelry was the use of garnet slices set, like enamel, into metal cells. Examples are garnet-inlaid buckles and clasps from the 7th-century Sutton Hoo ship burial in Suffolk (British Museum) and a crown inlaid with garnets and cabochon (rounded) gems (Real Amería, Madrid), which belonged to the Visigothic king Recceswinth. The famous Alfred jewel (9th century, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) is an example of cloisonné. Quite different are Celtic gold torques, rigid bands that encircled the neck or arm of the wearer.

See our current collection of Medieval Bronze Rings here or our Silver Rings by clicking here

Beginning in the 11th century, brooches continued to be one of the chief forms of medieval jewelry. They were usually penannular, such as the 12th-century Eagle brooch (Mainz Museum). Chased or enameled pendants of a crucifix or other religious emblem and pendants containing a holy relic were another characteristic adornment, as were rings. By the 14th and 15th centuries, jewelry increasingly became an integral part of dress and was worn in the form of necklaces and girdles, on hairnets, and sewn onto clothes.

Jewelry in the 17th and 18th Centuries

Jewelry of later periods falls into two main groups: diamond jewelry, which was usually conservative in design, and jewelry that reflected changing fashions in clothes and the arts. With the introduction in the 17th century of new methods of faceting gems to give them greater brilliance, the diamond became the preferred stone for precious jewelry, a reference that remains. At the same time, in the 18th and 19th centuries, industrial development brought mass production of more popular jewelry in cheaper materials. In addition to diamond tiaras, rings, and brooches of naturalistic design, there was less costly jewelry in the neoclassical style inspired by originals excavated at Pompeii, and in revivals of Gothic, Renaissance, and Egyptian styles (see Neoclassical Art and Architecture). The materials utilized, in addition to gold and semiprecious stones, included base-metal alloys, paste (for imitation gemstones), steel, and cast iron. Techniques included mechanical processes for stamping and cutting out patterns and settings.

In the case of both luxury jewelry and popular jewelry, a characteristic arrangement was a matched set, or parure. A woman's parure often included a tiara or ring in addition to the basic combination of necklace, earrings, and brooch. A man's parure, in the 18th century, consisted of buttons, shoe buckles, sword hilt, and the insignia of knightly orders. Many magnificent parures and other jewels were created for the royal houses of Europe, which for several hundred years have accumulated permanent collections of coronation regalia, state and personal jewelry, and important single stones like the Koh-i-noor and Hope diamonds. Many of the brilliant crowns have been reset, broken up, or lost, but a variety of impressive collections remain in the Tower of London, the Vienna Treasury, and the Kremlin. Jeweled accessories were also fashionable. These included watchcases, snuffboxes, seals, and thimble cases.