Happy Stories From our customers

“I may be persuaded to surrender the hat,” Thatcher declares. “The pearls, however, are non-negotiable.”

Today, we say goodbye to one of the most powerful women in Britain, Lady Margaret Thatcher. While her achievements extend beyond the scope of this blog, let’s take a look at a more finite aspect of this incredible woman: her jewelry. Lady Thatcher was a staunch pearl wearer with a penchant for broaches, always a classic and polished look, as evidenced by these images.

While we consider what do considerably more than a passing hobby (100 years under our platinum belt buckle), we recognize that there are a crop of jewelry makers out there, some good…some, well…watch the video, courtesy of the comedy show Portlandia.

Over the years, we’ve written repeatedly about various periods of jewelry throughout history. One common theme? You can always see its influence in jewelry today. Edwardian jewelry is no different (with some beautiful examples below). So what defines the Edwardian period? According to Antique Jewelry University:

The last decade of the nineteenth century, the fin de siècle, was a time when the rejection of the machine-made jewelry that had once been welcomed as an innovation, caused an about face in fashion and design. Jewelry went from large and ostentatious to ethereal and delicate almost overnight. Employing what was to become known as the “garland” style or style guirlande, jewelers who chose not to embrace Art Nouveau or the Arts and Crafts movement borrowed the fluidity of their lines and incorporated them into more traditional motifs thereby creating Edwardian jewelry.

Here are a few examples:

Edwardian Bow Necklace

Edwardian Negligee

Edwardian Platinum Earrings

Edwardian Diamond Ring

Queen Consort Alexandra of Great Britain.