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This month we are delighted to have a very special collection of VICTORIAN JET JEWELRY from the personal collections of Katy and Helen Muller, authors of the books on jet jewellery. I am so very privileged to have these and they are all guaranteed to be genuine and all original Victorian Whitby jet. The Mullers books "Jet Jewellery & Ornaments" and "Whitby Jet", are the best books written on the subject, we have a message from Katy below.

Whitby, England, with its medieval Abbey and seaside setting, is a charming city even today. As a popular holiday destination starting in the 1840s, its jet jewelry was a wonderful souvenir of a seaside holiday. Today jet jewelry is seen everywhere from the best fashion runways to the vampire fantasy culture. Classic, beautiful, and historic it should be a part of every serious jewelry lovers collection. Jet is a gem stone, revered for special powers and collected for its beauty.

WHITBY JET JEWELRY
by KATY MULLER
author of the book "Whitby Jet"

Because my mother Helen was THE jet expert in England, I developed an interest in this wonderful jewelry early in my life. Her book "Jet Jewellery and Ornaments� came out in 1984 then her larger book "Jet" in 1987. In 2009 we collaborated on an updated version of Jet Jewellery and Ornaments book called “Whitby Jet�, with some new information and lots of new color pictures.

Mum knew many of the jet workers in Whitby and her research included interviews with those who were then still living. She even had the opportunity to move a complete Victorian jet work shop and rebuild it where it can be seen today in the York Museum. Between the two of us, we have handled hundreds of pieces of this wonderful jewelry.

The best jet for jewelry was mined in the area around Whitby, England. Jet jewelry has been made for hundreds of years, but it was made most popular starting in the Victorian era after the death of Queen Victorias beloved husband, Prince Albert in 1861 when the whole country went into mourning. It was not only a sign of mourning, but a fashion statement as well.

The best jet jewelry that is found today is well carved and polished and has all the original fittings. A couple of small “flea bites� (conchoidal fractures) in jet is not unusual and it shows its authenticity because vulcanite and other simulants do not chip in this way. Unfortunately a lot of jet on offer these days that is made up of odd pieces and beads of jet which are re-made into necklaces, bracelets and earrings. These arent original or as they should be, and have little value. Buy from a reputable well-informed dealer who knows jet jewelry if you want the real thing.

In general, it is difficult to exactly date any jet piece, but certain motifs were popular in certain decades. The knot motif was most popular in the 1840s for instance, the green gypsy boy on porcelain in 1860s, lockets in the 1870s and larger brooches in the 1870s. As time went on and fashion changed the smaller pieces were came into vogue.

Good Victorian Jet jewelry is getting harder and harder to find, so if you see something you like buy it while you can! It will only increases in value. And enjoy wearing a famous piece of Victorian English history!

KATY MULLER

TO PURCHASE:

For JET JEWELRY YOU CAN PURCHASE please click HERE.

And earrings for sale are HERE.

REFERENCE INFORMATION:

We have a gallery showing the wonderful variety of jet necklaces HERE, bracelets HERE and a collection of beautiful jet earrings HERE. Enjoy looking!

During the part of the Victorian period from about 1860 to 1890 black jewelry was the height of fashion and black was a stylish color, not just an ornament of mourning. Made of jet, vulcanite, bog oak or pressed horn, each carried special meaning as a memento of a loved one or a sentiment. A brooch in the shape of a hand carrying a bouquet conveyed a message symbolized by the flowers. Photos might be housed inside lockets and watch fobs, and portraits hand painted on pendants and earrings. While some black jewelry was meant to be worn during mourning, black jewelry was fashionable when not in mourning as well, and worn for its beauty and sentiment.

JET is the black fossilized wood of a particular tree that grew millions of years ago. It is particularly associated with the English town of Whitby where much of it was fashioned into jewelry and accessories. Whitby became a tourist destination in the 1840s, and what better souvenir of a seaside vacation that a piece of jet jewelry? While jet was made into jewelry throughout the 1800s, it was especially fashionable between 1860 and 1890 after Prince Albert, Queen Victorias beloved husband, passed away. She made it the popular jewelry of mourning. Like amber, it will pick up paper when static is created by rubbing it on wool or silk.

VULCANITE (also trade named "Ebonite") was made by combining and heating sap of the Euphorbia or Ficus trees from Malaysia with sulphur. Invented in 1843 by Thomas Hancock, pieces made of vulcanite were almost always molded, not carved, and it was used mainly in making jewelry.

HORN is the natural horn of an animal, pressed into a mold to form jewelry.

BOG OAK is fossilized wood or peat found in Ireland. It is a brownish-black, and has a woody texture.

FRENCH JET and CREPE STONE are black glass, and not truly jet at all. Like all glass, they will be colder to the touch and heavier than jet or vulcanite. They are usually smaller sized pieces backed with black metal in the same size.

BOIS DURCI was invented by Francois Charles Lepag in 1856. It is a composition of fine hardwood sawdust and blood which is pressed then highly polished.

GUTTA PERCHA is the sap of the Dichopsis tree also found in Malaysia. Invented by William Montgomerie in 1843, it was used mainly in technical articles, e.g. driving belts, stoppers, tubs, pails, cups, washing drums and cables. It was also used for household purposes such as mouthpieces for whistles, sticks and riding whips. It was very rarely used for jewelry.