Georgian

The Georgian Era refers to the years 1714 to 1837 in British history, during the reigns of kings George I through to George IV and William IV, primarily the reign of king George III, or the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th Century.

By the beginning of the 1800s, as the first Industrial Revolution was underway, jewelry became more affordable by the growing middle classes. Georgian jewelry was characteristically made of colorful gemstones and paste stones cut to resemble diamonds. A foil was placed behind the stone, inside the mounting, to enhance the luster and color of the stone. Another characteristic of the Georgian jewelry was the rosette and spiral design. This kind of design was made with filigree to give the jewelry volume, without adding to its weight (and price).

Other popular pieces of jewelry of this period were cameos, micro mosaic, Berlin Iron jewelry and cut steel, mourning jewelry (made of hair, onyx and black enamel) as well as portrait jewelry, which were painted as miniatures on parchment.