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Honoring the Dead by Wearing Mourning Jewelry Mourning jewelry is worn as a symbol of honor, memorializing a loved one who has passed on. Mourning jewelry helps pay tribute to the dead using simple or ornate pieces. Mourning jewelry dates back to Victorian times and are currently cherished collectors pieces. They usually display memories of the loved one such as locks of their hair or photographs.
In the 1800s, death unfortunately happened quite often. Fifteen percent of all babies would not live to see their first birthday. In addition, those babies who did make it to adulthood were expected to live to be 42 years old on average. Several rules of conduct and etiquette were established to mourn the dead. These codes for grieving
included a mourning wardrobe and mourning jewelry.
Though mourning jewelry became popular in the 17th and 18th century, the first example of it was actually found in Europe in the 15th century. Mourners often wore black or white skulls or enameled heads in their rings or brooches.
It wasnt until the 17th century that people began giving out mourning rings to friends and family of the recently dead. Mourning rings became a status symbol at that time. Established members of society would often leave instruction in their will on the type and quantity of mourning rings that should be distributed at their death.
In the 18th century, mourning rings became more embellished. They were often inscribed with the name and age of the deceased. In addition, the ring was often set with images of the deceased.
When Prince Albert died in 1861, mourning jewelry reached its peak in popularity. This is because Queen Victoria was extremely upset by his passing and never really recovered from his premature death. She wore black clothes to symbolize her mourning for the rest of her life. In addition, many people began to wear black mourning jewelry to show the Queen their loyalty and compassion.
Mourning jewelry became popular in the United States due to the Civil War. It was not uncommon for soldiers who were going off to war to leave a locket with a piece of their hair behind. Families and loved ones would wear these lockets until the soldier came home safely. And if the soldier did not make it home alive the locket was worn as a memorial to the lost of dead soldier.
Mourning jewelry is often made of jet, because it is easy to carve. Jet is a durable coal like material. It is made when driftwood becomes heavy with water and sinks to the oceans floor. After being embedded in the oceans floor for sometime a series of chemical reactions will turn the wood into a fragile black substance that can be used to make jewelry. It became the material most commonly used in mourning jewelry when it took n Christina significance after being sol to pilgrims at holy sites in Spain.
Today there is a shortage of jet, so mourning jewelry is often made from other more easily found materials.
Gutta percha is a substance that is similar to jet and is often used to make mourning jewelry as well. It is derived from the sap of a Malayan tree and is usually black or brownish in color.
Other common material that mourning jewelry is made from include horn, plastics, black glass, onyx, and vulcanite which is made from sulfur treated rubber.
Though mourning jewelry is not commonly worn today it is widely collected and appreciated as memorials to the people who wore it and the dead that it honored. It is also a favorite in antique jewelry stores.
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