Methods and Production
editThe art of jewelry making during the Victorian Era was a trade that was taken up by both men and women though it was a predominantly male trade.[1] Initially, the women jewelry makers of Britain took up jewelry making as a hobby and were only called on to do things such as polishing and buffering.[1]The designing of jewelry was taken up by the females while the men were in charge of the more skilled based work such as metal crafting and enameling.[1]
During the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1850’s, people wanted handmade jewelry made out of cheaper materials such as enamels and semiprecious stones as well as silver, which was a cheaper alternative to gold and other gemstones.[1] This work required a host of different people working together to complete such as silversmiths, stonecutters, and jewelers.[2] The followers of the Arts and Crafts movement cared less for the technique used to make the jewelry, but instead searched for the jewelry with interesting and good designs.[1]
In Victorian America, the idea of using jewelry was brought over by European settlers in forms such as sentimental, mourning, and fashion jewelry.[3] Much like in Britain, jewelry making was predominantly male with only a few women working on the jewelry making process.[3] Jewelry was eventually mass produced due to the addition of steam- powered machinery such as power presses, automatic drops, wire-bending, button, watch, and locket case-making machines, hydraulic-rocking and stamp presses.[3]
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- ^ a b c d e Wolf, Toni Lesser (Autumn 1989). "Woman Jewelers of the British Arts and Crafts Movement". The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts. 14: 28–45 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Dawes, Ginny Redington. (1991). Victorian jewellry : unexplored treasures. Abbeville. ISBN 0789208687. OCLC 61176791.
- ^ a b c Carnevali, Francesca (2011). ""Fashioning Luxury for Factory Girls: American Jewelry, 1860-1914". The Business History Review. 85: 295–317 – via JSTOR.