What Era Is My Antique Jewellery From?

You've inherited a brooch from your grandmother, spotted a ring at a local antique fair, or uncovered a pendant tucked away in a drawer — and now you're wondering: what era is my antique jewellery actually from?

Dating antique jewellery is part detective work, part art history. The era a piece comes from shapes everything about it: the materials used, the craftsmanship involved, the stones it features, and the story it carries. At Jordan's Jewellers, we've helped countless customers unlock the history of their pieces, and this guide brings that expertise directly to you.

Whether you're a collector, an inheritor, or simply curious, here is your complete reference for identifying the era of your antique jewellery.

What Counts as "Antique" Jewellery?

Before diving into eras, it's worth clarifying terminology:

• Antique jewellery is generally defined as pieces that are 100 years old or more.
• Vintage jewellery typically refers to pieces that are at least 20–30 years old but under 100.
• Estate jewellery is a broader term for any pre-owned jewellery, regardless of age.

For this guide, we focus on the major antique eras — from the Georgian period through to the 1940s — and the practical clues that help identify each one.

The Major Antique Jewellery Eras at a Glance

Georgian Jewellery (1714–1837)

Who was it made for?

Georgian jewellery spans the reigns of Kings George I through George IV and into the brief reign of William IV. This is some of the rarest antique jewellery you'll encounter, because so little has survived.

Key identifying features:

• All handmade — machine production didn't exist, so look for slight irregularities that reflect a craftsman's hand.
• Closed-back settings — gemstones were set in metal with a solid back (often foil-lined) to reflect candlelight, since wearers lived before electric lighting.
• Foil-backed stones — coloured foils were placed behind paste or genuine stones to intensify their colour.
• Cannetille and repoussé work — intricate hand-worked gold techniques producing delicate, lace-like textures.
• Seed pearls — tiny natural pearls used to create intricate patterns, especially in mourning pieces.
• Hair jewellery — locks of hair from a loved one were set into rings, brooches, and lockets, both as tokens of affection and as memorials.
• Materials: Yellow gold (typically 18ct), silver (used for settings to appear white in moonlight/candlelight), paste stones, garnets, coral, jet, and natural pearls.
• Motifs: Hands (clasped or with pointing fingers), serpents, bows, stars, and nature imagery.

What to look for at a glance:

If the back of a stone setting is completely enclosed in metal, you are very likely looking at a Georgian piece. Open-back settings (where you can see through to the stone from behind) became common only in the Victorian era.

Victorian Jewellery (1837–1901)

Queen Victoria's 64-year reign is so long that jewellery historians divide it into three distinct sub-periods, each with a very different visual character.

Early Victorian / Romantic Period (1837–1860)

Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 set the tone for this era — romantic, sentimental, and full of personal symbolism.

Key identifying features:

• Sentimental motifs: serpents (symbols of eternal love — Victoria's own engagement ring was a serpent), hands, hearts, bows, flowers, and forget-me-nots.
• DEAREST and REGARD rings: rings set with gemstones whose first letters spelled out a word — Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz (DEAREST), or Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, Diamond (REGARD).
• Yellow gold throughout.
• Coloured gemstones: amethysts, topaz, turquoise, coral, garnets, and seed pearls.
• Cameos and intaglios: popular in both shell and hardstone.
• Scottish jewellery: cairngorm (smoky quartz), agate, and silver thistle motifs became fashionable following Victoria's love of Balmoral.

Mid-Victorian / Grand Period (1860–1880)

Prince Albert's death in 1861 plunged Victoria into lifelong mourning — and transformed jewellery with her.

Key identifying features:

• Mourning jewellery: black jet (mined in Whitby, North Yorkshire), black enamel, onyx, and vulcanite (a hard rubber substitute for jet).
• Whitby jet is warm to the touch and lightweight; if a piece feels cold and heavy, it's more likely French jet (black glass) or vulcanite.
• Heavy, bold designs: large bold goldwork, often with archaeological revival patterns inspired by ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Etruscan styles following major excavations of the period.
• Garnet jewellery: deep red Bohemian garnets, set in gold, were widely popular.
• Lockets: oval and heart-shaped lockets designed to hold photographs or locks of hair.
• Naturalistic motifs: ivy, ferns, wheat, and insects.
• Aesthetic influence: towards the end of this period, Japanese design motifs (fans, cranes, cherry blossom) began appearing as the Aesthetic Movement took hold.

Late Victorian / Aesthetic Period (1880–1901)

As the century drew to a close, jewellery became lighter, more delicate, and increasingly influenced by access to South African diamonds following the 1867 discovery.

Key identifying features:

• Stars and crescents — among the most iconic motifs of this period.
• Diamonds — increasingly available and set in silver or early white metal to complement their sparkle.
• Lighter silhouettes compared to the Grand Period.
• 'New Woman' jewellery: simpler, more wearable pieces reflecting changing attitudes toward women's roles.
• Bar brooches and swallow brooches — fashionable and widely reproduced.
• Old Mine Cut and Old European Cut diamonds — the precursors to modern brilliant cuts; they have a smaller table, larger culet, and higher crown than a modern diamond.

Art Nouveau Jewellery (1890–1910)

Art Nouveau ("new art" in French) was a radical break from tradition — a movement that valued artistic craftsmanship above gemstone value, and natural beauty above symmetry.

Key identifying features:

• Flowing, organic lines inspired by nature: flowers, vines, dragonflies, peacocks, butterflies, and waves.
• Female figures: sensuous, idealised women with flowing hair were a central motif — sometimes presented as supernatural beings (nymphs, fairies, sirens).
• Enamel work: particularly plique-à-jour (translucent enamel without a metal backing, resembling stained glass) and en plein enamel.
• Less emphasis on precious stones: the craftsmanship and design were the focus. Semi-precious stones like opals, moonstones, and freshwater pearls were commonly used.
• Asymmetry: unlike most earlier and later jewellery, Art Nouveau pieces often deliberately broke symmetry.
• Materials: Gold, silver, enamel, horn, ivory, glass, and semi-precious stones.
• Key makers: René Lalique (France) and Charles Horner (England) are among the most collected Art Nouveau jewellers.

How to distinguish Art Nouveau from Arts and Crafts:

Both movements were contemporaneous and both drew on nature. The Arts and Crafts movement (c.1880–1920), associated with William Morris, favoured more rustic, handcrafted forms with hammered metals and bold semi-precious stones, rejecting the sinuous femininity of Art Nouveau. Arts and Crafts jewellery tends to look more medieval and robust; Art Nouveau looks more dream-like and flowing.

Edwardian Jewellery (1901–1915)

King Edward VII's reign ushered in the Belle Époque — a golden era of elegance, wealth, and elaborate social entertaining. Edwardian jewellery reflects the tastes of the Edwardian upper class: delicate, white, luminous, and extraordinarily refined.

Key identifying features:

• Platinum settings — the defining material of the Edwardian era. Platinum's strength allowed goldsmiths to create incredibly fine, lace-like filigree that would have been impossible in gold.
• White, pale, and cool palette: diamonds and pearls dominated, sometimes accented by pale sapphires or light green demantoid garnets.
• Garland style: intricate looped designs resembling swags of fabric, ribbons, bows, and garlands — elegant and aristocratic.
• Milgrain detailing: tiny beaded borders around settings, a hallmark of Edwardian precision work.
• Long necklaces, lavalieres, and negligée pendants: jewellery designed to complement the long, corseted silhouettes of Edwardian fashion.
• Tiaras and hair ornaments: wearable as multiple formats — as a headband, as a necklace, and as a brooch.
• Conversion pieces: many Edwardian pieces were designed to convert, reflecting the practicality of the era's wealthy patrons.

Distinguishing Edwardian from Late Victorian:

Late Victorian silver settings were thicker and more practical. Edwardian platinum settings are finer, lighter, and more intricate. If the white metal setting is featherlight and delicately worked, it's more likely Edwardian.

Art Deco Jewellery (1920–1939)

Art Deco is arguably the most instantly recognisable of all antique jewellery styles — bold, geometric, glamorous, and resolutely modern.

Key identifying features:

• Geometric shapes: rectangles, triangles, octagons, stepped forms, and strong parallel lines — no organic curves.
• High contrast colour combinations: most famously black and white (onyx and diamond), and bold saturated stones (emerald, ruby, sapphire) against platinum or white gold.
• Calibré-cut stones: small gemstones cut to precise shapes and sizes to fit together like mosaic tiles — a hallmark of Art Deco precision.
• Platinum and white gold — yellow gold largely disappeared until the 1940s.
• Egyptian and East Asian influence: following Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, Egyptian motifs — scarabs, lotus flowers, hieroglyphics — flooded into jewellery design. Japanese, Chinese, and Aztec influences also appeared.
• Diamond cuts: baguette, emerald, and trillion cuts were introduced during this era alongside the increasingly refined brilliant cut.
• Bracelets: wide geometric bangles and the characteristic Art Deco bracelet — multi-strand diamond-set flexible bracelets — are among the most iconic pieces.
• Cocktail rings and ear clips: bold, statement pieces designed for the new social freedom of the Roaring Twenties.

Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels:

The most celebrated Art Deco pieces were created by Parisian Maisons such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Boucheron. Even unsigned pieces share their aesthetic — look for extraordinary precision in stone setting and clean, architectural forms.

Retro / Mid-Century Jewellery (1940s–1950s)

The onset of the Second World War transformed jewellery overnight. Platinum was classified as a strategic war material and diverted for military use, forcing designers back to yellow and rose gold. The result was a bold, sculptural, Hollywood-influenced aesthetic.

Key identifying features:

• Yellow gold and rose gold — platinum vanished almost entirely until after the war.
• Chunky, sculptural forms: large, three-dimensional designs with ribbon bows, buckles, fans, and floral sprays — often in gold alone, without stones.
• Retro colour combinations: pink tourmalines, aquamarines, and citrines paired with rose gold; large rubies with yellow gold.
• Hollywood glamour: the influence of films and film stars is visible in the exuberance and scale of Retro pieces.
• Synthetic stones: rubies, sapphires, and emeralds were increasingly lab-created in this period.

How to Use Hallmarks to Date Your Jewellery

UK hallmarks are one of the most reliable tools for dating jewellery, and the UK has one of the world's oldest and most rigorous hallmarking systems, dating back to 1300.

The components of a UK hallmark:

• Sponsor's mark (Maker's mark): Identifies the company or individual who submitted the piece for hallmarking — usually initials in a shaped cartouche.
• Standard mark (Fineness mark): Indicates the metal purity — e.g., 375 (9ct gold), 585 (14ct), 750 (18ct), 925 (sterling silver), 950 (platinum).
• Assay Office mark: Identifies where the piece was tested and hallmarked:

• • London: Leopard's head (crown removed in 1821)
  • Birmingham: Anchor
  • Sheffield: Yorkshire rose (post-1975) / Crown (pre-1975)
  • Edinburgh: Castle

• Date letter: An alphabetic letter in a shaped shield, changed annually, indicating the year of hallmarking. The typeface, shield shape, and letter cycle all vary between assay offices and eras.

A note on Georgian pieces:

Jewellery made before compulsory hallmarking legislation was fully enforced — and small items such as brooches and earrings — were often legally exempt from hallmarking. The absence of a hallmark does not mean a piece is not genuine.

Gold carat marks to know:

• 15ct and 12ct marks — these carats were used in the UK between 1854 and 1932, when they were abolished and replaced by 14ct. A piece marked 12ct or 15ct was almost certainly made in this period.
• 9ct became a legal standard in the UK in 1854.
• 18ct has been continuous throughout all eras.

Five Practical Ways to Identify Your Jewellery's Era

1. Examine the clasp

Clasps evolved significantly over the decades:

• C-clasps (simple pin and catch): Georgian and early Victorian.
• Trombone clasps (C-clasp with a rolled tube catch): common from the 1850s.
• Box clasps and safety clasps: became common from the late Victorian period.
• Fold-over clasps: 20th century.

2. Look at the setting style

• Closed-back settings → Georgian or very early Victorian.
• Collet settings (single bezel around the stone) → common in all eras but particularly Victorian.
• Pavé and milgrain settings → Edwardian and Art Deco.
• Invisible settings → Art Deco and later.

3. Assess the stone cuts

• Table cut / Rose cut → Georgian to early Victorian (flat base, domed top with facets).
• Old Mine Cut → mid-Victorian to early 1900s (cushion-shaped, hand-cut).
• Old European Cut → late Victorian to 1920s (round, precursor to the modern brilliant).
• Modern Brilliant Cut → standardised after the 1920s and dominant post-WWII.
• Baguette and emerald cuts → Art Deco onwards.

4. Check the metal colour and type

• Yellow gold only → Georgian, early to mid-Victorian, Retro (1940s).
• Silver → widespread in late Victorian (especially with diamonds).
• Platinum → introduced from around 1900; peak use in Edwardian and Art Deco.
• White gold → available from around 1915 but more common from the 1920s.
• Rose gold → fashionable in the 1940s–1950s.

5. Study the motifs

Motifs are one of the fastest routes to an approximate date. Use this quick reference:

• Serpents → Georgian and early Victorian
• Hands and hearts → Georgian, early Victorian
• Jet and black enamel → mid-Victorian (post-1861)
• Stars and crescents → late Victorian
• Flowing naturalistic figures and enamel → Art Nouveau
• Lace-like filigree, garlands → Edwardian
• Geometric and Egyptian motifs → Art Deco
• Ribbon bows, fans, sculpted gold → Retro/1940s

Frequently Asked Questions About Antique Jewellery Eras

Q: How do I know if my jewellery is genuinely antique or a reproduction? Genuine antique pieces show consistent age in all their components — natural wear on the catch, patina on the metal, period-appropriate stone cuts, and hallmarks (if present) that match the purported era. Reproductions often have modern stone cuts, machine-perfect settings, or hallmarks that don't match the style. A professional appraisal is the most reliable route.

Q: Is Georgian jewellery more valuable than Victorian? Generally, yes — Georgian jewellery is significantly rarer because so much has been lost, damaged, or melted down over the centuries. However, value also depends on the quality of the piece, the maker, the materials, and the condition. A signed Art Nouveau piece by René Lalique, for example, will far exceed the value of an unsigned Georgian piece.

Q: My piece has a hallmark with a date letter — how do I read it? Date letter systems changed with each assay office and each letter cycle. The most reliable approach is to photograph the full hallmark and consult an online hallmarking guide (the British Hallmarking Council provides detailed references), or bring it to a reputable jeweller. At Jordan's Jewellers, we're happy to help you interpret hallmarks on your pieces.

Q: Can a piece have characteristics from more than one era? Yes — jewellery was repaired, modified, and updated throughout its life. A Georgian stone might be reset in a Victorian mounting. A Victorian brooch might have had its clasp replaced in the Edwardian period. Skilled appraisers look for these inconsistencies as part of building the full picture of a piece's history.

Q: What is Whitby jet, and how is it different from other black mourning jewellery? Whitby jet is fossilised wood (specifically Araucaria, an ancient tree) found in the cliffs around Whitby, North Yorkshire. It is very light, warm to the touch, and develops a surface sheen. Black glass (often called "French jet") is heavier and cold to the touch. Vulcanite is a hard rubber that smells faintly of sulphur when rubbed. All three were used for Victorian mourning jewellery, but genuine Whitby jet is the most valuable.

Q: What does 'old cut' mean for diamonds? Old cut diamonds predate the precision machine-cutting techniques developed in the early 20th century. The two main types are the Old Mine Cut (cushion-shaped, used from roughly the 1830s to early 1900s) and the Old European Cut (round, used from roughly the 1890s to 1930s). Both have a characteristic warmth and glow that differs from the sharp brilliance of modern cuts — many buyers specifically seek out old cut diamonds for their romantic, vintage character.

Getting Your Jewellery Professionally Appraised

While this guide gives you a strong foundation for identifying your antique jewellery's era, professional appraisal remains the gold standard — especially if you're considering insuring a piece, selling it, or settling an estate.

A qualified antique jewellery appraiser will:

• Examine the piece under magnification
• Assess hallmarks and maker's marks in detail
• Evaluate gemstone quality and cut type
• Research provenance where documents exist
• Provide a written valuation for insurance or sale purposes

At Jordan's Jewellers, our team has decades of experience in antique and vintage jewellery. Whether you have a single inherited piece or an entire collection, we can help you understand what you have, what it's worth, and what makes it special. Get in touch today or visit us in store.

Summary: Quick Reference for Dating Antique Jewellery

To quickly narrow down the era of your piece, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is the stone setting closed at the back? → Likely Georgian
2. Does it feature mourning motifs, jet, or onyx? → Mid-Victorian (post-1861)
3. Is it made of platinum with lace-like filigree? → Edwardian
4. Does it have flowing lines, enamel, and organic shapes? → Art Nouveau
5. Is it geometric, bold, and set in white metal? → Art Deco
6. Is it chunky yellow or rose gold with large stones? → Retro/1940s
7. Does it carry a UK date letter hallmark? → Cross-reference with assay office records for an exact year.

Understanding the era your jewellery comes from doesn't just satisfy curiosity — it deepens your connection to a piece that has survived decades or centuries to reach your hands. Every antique jewel carries the fingerprints of its time: the fashions, the technologies, the tastes, and the emotions of the people who made and wore it.

Jordan's Jewellers — Specialists in antique, vintage, and estate jewellery. Visit us in store or get in touch to discuss your piece.