Relationships with friends can be as important and intense as those with lovers. A group of nineteenth century men marked these links by giving each other rings, signs of affection and leaving gifts.
Gifts for bridesmaids were one of the smaller items on the happy couple’s to-do list. However, choosing an appropriate brooch, locket or bracelet was an opportunity for a pretty, thoughtful gift.
A newspaper story from 1906 shows how a hopeful Scottish grocer was cheated out of a turquoise locket after answering a promising lonely hearts ad…
Mourning jewels have been made for hundreds of years. However, sometimes they are very strange, like the locket worn by politician Denis Bowes Daly…
Some jewellery was made to bring luck to the wearer. A little gold locket from 1597 held the caul or amniotic sac of John Monson, to protect him from drowning and other dangers.
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