Independent Antique & Vintage Jewellery Workshop · 1860s-1960s
Forgotten Value of Modest Jewellery
by Polina Lyapustina
The history of jewellery goes back thousands of years. The legends about gold that covered the head of Semiramis, or the giant gemstone nets that adorned the neck and shoulders of Cleopatra, kept humanity in almost religious awe for centuries. Talking about this jewellery, ordinary people imagined something inaccessible, almost divine.
Surviving the dark ages of Western civilization, sumptuous jewellery reappeared in public in the 18th century. The rumors about Catherine the Great of Russia and her crown set the rules, and the endless row of European monarchs and nobility started a race of diamonds that later ultimately shaped our understanding of jewellery.
The thing we tend to forget, however, is that jewellery from the very moment of its appearance in human history, way before it implied gemstones and preceding its transformation into a status indicator, was designed to be beautiful and to belong.
Yes, belonging was always a less beautiful but essential part of the game. Once seen in nature, a tiny, beautiful object, whether it be a shell, a pearl, or a stone, was instantly assigned to those who found it. But creating jewellery demanded a stronger and more personal link; the piece had to be a match. And when it was a good fit, it enhanced the influence of both the jewellery and its owner.
Shells and pearls on the skin of the beautiful young girl made her irresistible and might cause trouble; already there and then, jewellery posed a question of modesty and careful statements the pieces made.
Civilisation developed, and soon valuable and attractive pieces began to be chosen and purchased by men and put on women, [under control, for their safety], depriving them of choice or will, and often reducing them to mere adornments.
The modest pieces owned by ordinary people still came from traditional crafts and remained the property of people who wore them as a part of their life and personality.
During the glorious Georgian and Victorian Romantic periods, the modest heritage jewellery has slowly and secretly become a symbol of women's choice. While the gold and gemstones were still gifts from husbands or fathers, and were chosen (read as required) to wear in public according to one's status, the modest inherited pieces would be kept close to the heart and worn freely in daily life.
The Victorian Grand Period pushed modesty to the stars. The art of being beautiful in black, or the science of making shiny precious metals and gems look modest, has been honed and perfected over two decades.
The mourning time turned to become another step to women's freedom to dream and create, because the fashion of male choice for jewellery — shiny and valuable — was certainly not (always) enough to enrich and embellish women's wardrobes for decades.
By the end of the XIX century, modest jewellery became a deliberate choice of emancipated women of all classes. They now had diverse interests, often their own (obviously smaller) income, and certainly valued the suffrage. Although their jewellery wasn't what we call statement jewellery today, every piece chosen freely was a statement. Choosing modesty meant a lot.
Choosing the old meant cherishing your family heritage. Choosing silver when you could buy gold meant paying the difference for a better cause of your own choice. Gold plating would mean a mother from a middle-class family could shine out with real gold luster and have jewellery that would last. Crystals instead of gems would say that a woman could find it with her own money.
Moreover, the craft has changed and now Silver, Vermeil, Bronze, Brass, Pinchbeck, Gold Plating, Semi-precious stones, and even Crystals, which were used for centuries but were just a cheap replacement, were used to create modern and long-lasting pieces that have become a great deal themselves.
At the time of the late Queen Victoria in Europe and the end of the Gilded Age in the US, the modest jewellery brought a clear message to every woman: "You can have your jewellery too, without pretending to be someone else."
Those messages hidden in jewellery of that period are now a part of the priceless heritage of freedom and suffrage for us to learn and remember. Also, we should be grateful to be able to learn it in peace.
In just a decade after those values were crafted and not yet finally confirmed, the people who were far from or even against them would have to learn and adopt them during the Great War.
World War I changed the world forever. And it was the modest Victorian and Art Nouveau pieces that were adopted during the inter-war period and set a base (over the Edwardian) for later Art Deco pieces. And it was the modest materials that were used during the periods of shortage in gold and silver. And it was a heritage of Victorian times that helped millions of women to mourn after the War.
The jewellery stopped shouting; it would rather flow, grow, and build around its owner. It stopped dictating, it began reflecting and adapting to survive in the new world, as humanity must have done.
World War II, which arrived too soon, would cut this development in two. After another 7 years of deaths, we would soon see the bold Retro style, demanding the world not only to survive, but to celebrate life out loud, no matter if in diamonds and pearls, or glass and plastic. Meanwhile, the Modernist development would rather research, reflect, and simply live the new reality that was like nothing before.
When the world arrived in the 1960s [here, Chioschetto concludes its research], we see the civilization of great progress, yet still in chaos, and full of fears. We see much denial and rejection of old ideas, for better and for worse. And not much resilience or confidence.
But there was a woman, although it's not a popular opinion to refer to her nowadays. She wasn't a rebel; she never protested; she was calm and just did her job. The job she never chose, I must admit, but she was well-trained, I guess. She inherited and proudly carried modesty and nobility as her flag.
She was a working mother of four, in her 30s, and a Queen. And I bet she was afraid, too. While the US and USSR threatened to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth, she implemented the decolonization plan in Africa.
Yes, it's Queen Elizabeth II who embodied the concept of modest jewellery better than anyone. Her string of pearls, which became her part and was buried with the queen, became an undeniable symbol of the modest conclusion of my research: jewellery shouldn't create an image; it must match its owner deeply, and when it does, it simply reveals a better, stronger, more resilient you.
For the queen who tries to keep her head up and serve, while for many, the monarchy seems outdated. Or equally, for a tired housewife opening the jewellery box with her granny's necklace, she used to borrow and run away from the house in the golden days of no responsibilities. Or a young lady heading to the club for the first time wearing the pendant her mother gave her for her 16th birthday, not so much to feel beautiful, but to feel safe and most importantly — herself.
Because when you take off the crown, it's important to feel that a modest string of pearls enhances your royal grace no less. Because it's who you are, and modest jewellery is all about that.
Surviving the dark ages of Western civilization, sumptuous jewellery reappeared in public in the 18th century. The rumors about Catherine the Great of Russia and her crown set the rules, and the endless row of European monarchs and nobility started a race of diamonds that later ultimately shaped our understanding of jewellery.
The thing we tend to forget, however, is that jewellery from the very moment of its appearance in human history, way before it implied gemstones and preceding its transformation into a status indicator, was designed to be beautiful and to belong.
Yes, belonging was always a less beautiful but essential part of the game. Once seen in nature, a tiny, beautiful object, whether it be a shell, a pearl, or a stone, was instantly assigned to those who found it. But creating jewellery demanded a stronger and more personal link; the piece had to be a match. And when it was a good fit, it enhanced the influence of both the jewellery and its owner.
Shells and pearls on the skin of the beautiful young girl made her irresistible and might cause trouble; already there and then, jewellery posed a question of modesty and careful statements the pieces made.
Civilisation developed, and soon valuable and attractive pieces began to be chosen and purchased by men and put on women, [under control, for their safety], depriving them of choice or will, and often reducing them to mere adornments.
The modest pieces owned by ordinary people still came from traditional crafts and remained the property of people who wore them as a part of their life and personality.
During the glorious Georgian and Victorian Romantic periods, the modest heritage jewellery has slowly and secretly become a symbol of women's choice. While the gold and gemstones were still gifts from husbands or fathers, and were chosen (read as required) to wear in public according to one's status, the modest inherited pieces would be kept close to the heart and worn freely in daily life.
The Victorian Grand Period pushed modesty to the stars. The art of being beautiful in black, or the science of making shiny precious metals and gems look modest, has been honed and perfected over two decades.
The mourning time turned to become another step to women's freedom to dream and create, because the fashion of male choice for jewellery — shiny and valuable — was certainly not (always) enough to enrich and embellish women's wardrobes for decades.
By the end of the XIX century, modest jewellery became a deliberate choice of emancipated women of all classes. They now had diverse interests, often their own (obviously smaller) income, and certainly valued the suffrage. Although their jewellery wasn't what we call statement jewellery today, every piece chosen freely was a statement. Choosing modesty meant a lot.
Choosing the old meant cherishing your family heritage. Choosing silver when you could buy gold meant paying the difference for a better cause of your own choice. Gold plating would mean a mother from a middle-class family could shine out with real gold luster and have jewellery that would last. Crystals instead of gems would say that a woman could find it with her own money.
Moreover, the craft has changed and now Silver, Vermeil, Bronze, Brass, Pinchbeck, Gold Plating, Semi-precious stones, and even Crystals, which were used for centuries but were just a cheap replacement, were used to create modern and long-lasting pieces that have become a great deal themselves.
At the time of the late Queen Victoria in Europe and the end of the Gilded Age in the US, the modest jewellery brought a clear message to every woman: "You can have your jewellery too, without pretending to be someone else."
Those messages hidden in jewellery of that period are now a part of the priceless heritage of freedom and suffrage for us to learn and remember. Also, we should be grateful to be able to learn it in peace.
In just a decade after those values were crafted and not yet finally confirmed, the people who were far from or even against them would have to learn and adopt them during the Great War.
World War I changed the world forever. And it was the modest Victorian and Art Nouveau pieces that were adopted during the inter-war period and set a base (over the Edwardian) for later Art Deco pieces. And it was the modest materials that were used during the periods of shortage in gold and silver. And it was a heritage of Victorian times that helped millions of women to mourn after the War.
The jewellery stopped shouting; it would rather flow, grow, and build around its owner. It stopped dictating, it began reflecting and adapting to survive in the new world, as humanity must have done.
World War II, which arrived too soon, would cut this development in two. After another 7 years of deaths, we would soon see the bold Retro style, demanding the world not only to survive, but to celebrate life out loud, no matter if in diamonds and pearls, or glass and plastic. Meanwhile, the Modernist development would rather research, reflect, and simply live the new reality that was like nothing before.
When the world arrived in the 1960s [here, Chioschetto concludes its research], we see the civilization of great progress, yet still in chaos, and full of fears. We see much denial and rejection of old ideas, for better and for worse. And not much resilience or confidence.
But there was a woman, although it's not a popular opinion to refer to her nowadays. She wasn't a rebel; she never protested; she was calm and just did her job. The job she never chose, I must admit, but she was well-trained, I guess. She inherited and proudly carried modesty and nobility as her flag.
She was a working mother of four, in her 30s, and a Queen. And I bet she was afraid, too. While the US and USSR threatened to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth, she implemented the decolonization plan in Africa.
Yes, it's Queen Elizabeth II who embodied the concept of modest jewellery better than anyone. Her string of pearls, which became her part and was buried with the queen, became an undeniable symbol of the modest conclusion of my research: jewellery shouldn't create an image; it must match its owner deeply, and when it does, it simply reveals a better, stronger, more resilient you.
For the queen who tries to keep her head up and serve, while for many, the monarchy seems outdated. Or equally, for a tired housewife opening the jewellery box with her granny's necklace, she used to borrow and run away from the house in the golden days of no responsibilities. Or a young lady heading to the club for the first time wearing the pendant her mother gave her for her 16th birthday, not so much to feel beautiful, but to feel safe and most importantly — herself.
Because when you take off the crown, it's important to feel that a modest string of pearls enhances your royal grace no less. Because it's who you are, and modest jewellery is all about that.
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J.G. Keulemans' illustrations for the 1871 album Exotic Birds, as well as fashion magazines of various years from 1890 to 1954, were used to design the site.
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