The hashtag was coined by @dames_a_la_mode—IRL, Taylor Shelby—owner of Washington D.C.-based Dames a la Mode, a company that creates Georgian-style costume jewelry for “historical costumers, re-enactors, museums, movies and film,” Shelby said.
Shelby is an excellent historical costumer herself, and created her Instagram in 2015 to share not only her costume jewelry, but also her historical costuming projects and inspiration images from different periods.
In 2016 she launched #GeorgianJanuary, a daily challenge in which she asked her Instagram community to post images pertaining to the Georgian era that fit a different theme, one for each day of the month.
“They can be really specific,” Shelby explained, “like ‘necklace’ or really broad like ‘inside.’”
The themes are open to any aspect of Georgian life but many are a particularly good fit for jewelry, such as “blues” and “pastels,” and are embraced by antique aficionados and dealers.
Currently in its third year, the #GeorgianJanuary hashtag currently is linked to more than 7,500 posts.
“I love the Georgian Era and spend a lot of time doing research on the jewelry, costumes and general history from that time period,” said Shelby of her initial inclination to start the hashtag and challenge. “I wanted a way to find others out there in Instagram-land who felt the same. January is always such a bleak time for me because all of the fun of the holidays are over, so I thought it would be a great time of year to spend looking at pretty things.”
Elizabeth Potts, creator of online and New York City by-private-appointment antique jewelry company The Moonstoned, appreciates the camaraderie of the hashtag.
“We are all nerds, critics, historians, preservers and torch-bearers to bring awareness to the beauty of heirlooms,” she said of the antique jewelry community. “In a time where so much jewelry is mass-produced and bought without thought, I hope that #GeorgianJanuary makes people think a little more about their jewelry and what it means to hold onto something that could generate feelings and memories for another 300-plus years.”
Potts counts the Georgian era as one of her favorites for jewelry because of its “sentimentality and incredible level of detail,” noting the prevalence of
mourning jewelry, which often features enamel, symbols and the hair of the deceased.
“This ring is really special,” said Elizabeth Potts, owner of The Moonstoned. “Although she is a little well-worn, the scrolling band and foiled diamonds are such beautiful examples of the Georgian period. The center stone is organically shaped, so this setting would have been made specifically for these diamonds. My favorite part about this whole ring is its low profile.”
Also from The Moonstoned, a “museum-worthy” ring from the era of George III. The gold ring features diamonds and guilloche enamel, “a style of enamel in which you can see through the enamel to the delicate patterns in the gold underneath,” explained Potts.
“This would have been used as an example in a jeweler’s shop of a mourning ring for purchase,” explained Potts, who still has the piece for sale on her site. “It doesn’t have a name dedicated to it inside, but it is fully hallmarked and dated for 1776. The black enamel is beautiful and I love the shield shape.”
This sepia hairwork and garnet ring is another mourning piece, which Potts converted from a brooch. It depicts a scene of a man fishing to commemorate a death. “By using the person’s hair and grinding it up into a paste with water, this was painstakingly painted onto an ivory disc to depict their deceased loved one,” Potts said.
Elizabeth Rose of Elizabeth Rose Antiques, which sells both online on RubyLane.com and at a stand at the Grays Antiques Market in London, also remarked on the emotional aspect of jewelry that exemplifies the Georgian period.
Beyond mourning jewelry, she said that themes centered on love and jewelry that functioned as keepsakes and love tokens were extremely popular. These include cameos and portrait rings and brooches, as well as acrostic jewelry, jewelry that spells out messages according to the first letter of a particular gemstone (the most famous example of this is a “Dear” ring, featuring a diamond, emerald, amethyst and ruby.)
Potts said that the use of closed-back settings for diamonds and gemstones is a technical hallmark of the period. “Diamonds, garnets, agates and other gemstones were often placed in their settings with a thin piece of metal or ‘foil’ backing it to help the light reflect through the stone,” she said. “Open settings weren’t really used quite yet. Over time, the backings have mostly oxidized to create this really breathtaking, moody look to the diamonds.”
Rose added that "paste diamonds" (hand-cut glass) and gemstones, particularly in rivière necklaces and girandole earrings, old-cut and rose-cut diamonds, flat-cut garnets, pearls, imperial and pink topaz, and coral were all frequently utilized.
Mae Jean Vintage is currently selling this “breath-taking and rare” Georgian mourning ring from 1793. The 8-karat rose gold ring features human hair enclosed behind glass, likely that of the child whose identity is engraved in the back of the ring: Kate Hart, 19th June 1793, Aged 11 years. The date would presumably refer to the date she died.
Here, a brooch circa 1830 from Mae Jean Vintage. The dainty floral pin features four purplish-red garnets with closed backs and seed pearls set in 10-karat rose gold.
This Georgian high-karat gold and flat-cut garnet brooch is English circa 1800. From Elizabeth Rose Antiques, it was previously an aigrette, or hair piece.
A Georgian stack of rings from Elizabeth Rose Antiques. From top to bottom: an 18-karat gold and split natural pearl ring from England, circa 1820; an 18-karat gold and white enamel mourning ring commemorating the death of a 5-week-old baby from England, 1775; an 18-karat gold, old-cut diamond and emerald ring from England, circa 1830.
“We see absolutely top-of-the-top craftsmanship with very finely handmade pieces of art,” she said.
Several dealers with whom I spoke via phone and e-mail referenced the quality of Georgian jewelry, particularly the pieces in fine condition today.
Potts explained, “These pieces were all painstakingly made by expert hands without power tools, without electricity, without stores where you can order bits and pieces. Just think about that for a second before you look Georgian jewelry up. They are absolutely achingly beautiful works of art.”
The #GeorgianJanuary hashtag succeeded in converting this Instagram-user to a devotee of the era, at least in terms of jewelry. As February tends to rival January in dullness, might I suggest @Dames_a_la_Mode make #VictorianFebruary a thing?
Ashley Davisis the senior editor, fashion at National Jeweler, covering all things related to design, style and trends.
