Men's Jewelry in the Georgian Era

A Georgian Man. Lord Granville Landsdowne. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.   The subject of men's jewelry during the Georgian Period has been a little bit tough to research. It’s clear that women’s fashion and adornment is far more important to the masses than men’s fashion. Fortunately, I did find a few resources to help shed light on men’s fashion during the reign of King George III. In the beginning of this period, embroidery and lace were the most common adornment on men’s clothing. However, toward the end of this era, the embroidery and lace were reserved solely for the highly elaborate outfits worn to court and public appearance. Several wars waged during this period, which lent sentimentality to the jewelry of that day. In addition to the buttons and adornments on their clothing, men may have worn rings or tiny portraits of deceased loved ones (mourning jewelry). Some may have carried secret lockets or lover’s eye lockets, but these would have been hidden out of sight in most cases. Lover’s eye lockets bore inside a painting of a loved one’s eye and a wisp of their hair draped across the forehead. (click here for some examples) Popular motifs of that day included the Greek key, wheat, plumage, phoenix, urns, cameos, intaglios (recessed engraving), mosaics, and acorns {Georgian Index, 2001}. by Angela Magnotti Andrews Bibliography 1. "Old Trends and New Designers." Eras of Elegance, accessed May 8, 2012. http://www.erasofelegance.com/fashion/history.html. 2. "Georgian Jewelry." Georgian Index, accessed May 8, 2012. http://www.georgianindex.net/jewelry/gjewelry.html. 3. S. Hand. "Victorian Jewelry: Personal Adornment from the Age of Romance to the Age of Aesthetics." Old Sacramento Living History Program (2004): 9-11, last modified 2011. http://www.oldsacramentolivinghistory.com/research/victorian%20jewelry.pdf.