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Vintage hair jewelry, even today, is mainly associated with mourning and achieved its height of popularity during the 19th century.

Hair Jewelry
Hair jewelry is made from braiding human hair together and then sewing the braided pieces together. During the 19th century, hair braids were combined with gold and stones to create rings, brooches, bracelets and other types of jewelry.

Photography was still a new, evolving technology during the 19th century. The costs of taking photographs were prohibitive for many, as was sitting for a painter to have a portrait painted. However, carrying a piece of a loved one’s hair or wearing hairwork jewelry was a way to keep a memento close if separated by distance or death.

Mourning hair jewelry
Victoria ascended to the throne of England in 1837 when she was 18 years old. Three years later, on February 10, 1840, she married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The two were very close. The couple had nine children during their years together. Prince Albert was also was a key adviser to Queen Victoria during his lifetime.

Prince Albert died of typhoid on December 14, 1861. Queen Victoria was devastated by the sudden loss of her husband and remained in mourning for the rest of her life. They were both 42 years old at the time of his death.

Queen Victoria set the standards for mourning etiquette. During the Victorian era, there were strict, and sometimes contradictory, rules about proper mourning. Hairwork jewelry was one of the few types of jewelry that was considered proper to wear after the deep mourning period was over. Queen Victoria continued to wear black, and mourning jewelry, until her death in 1901.