After the Victorian period in England was
over and Edward VII was on the throne, he
and his wife, Alexandra of Denmark,
greatly influenced fashion and jewelry as
well as other art forms. They preferred glitter
and lots of it! However, the items themselves
were somewhat scaled down from the previous
Victorian period.
Historical Influences/Inventions:
Edward and Alexandra as stated above.
In England everyone "dressed" for
the theatre while in America "Vaudeville"
was the favorite evening out.
Department stores and catalog stores grew
to huge proportions Sears and Roebuck,
Montgomery
Wards and soon Wannamakers joined the scene.
Alexandra popularized the "dog collar"
necklace, which she wore to hide a scar
on
her neck.
The watch fob was invented by Louis Cartier
in 1904
House of Cartier appointed official jeweler
to the Queen in 1904
Designs and Decorations:
Good Luck Symbols
Horseshoes
Wishbones
Doves
Hearts
Acanthus
Laurel Wreaths
Ribbon Bows
Flowers in garlands
Fish
Ducks
Peacocks
Foxes
Jumping horses
Dog collars
multistrand necklaces
Pierced metal mountings
handkerchief style pendants
Bar Pins and Brooches
Negligee Pendants
Filigreed Platinum with knife-edge
Millegrain settings
Drop earrings
Bangle Bracelets
Long bead or pearl Sautoirs/tassel ends
Chatelaines on a smaller scale
Lavaliers
Stomachers
Resille Necklaces
Tiaras
Small Boxes
Clocks
Icons
fans
Large hats
Feather Boas
Parasols
Ornate cuff links
Photo fobs
Sash Pins
Materials Used:
Pearls
Diamonds
Amethyst
Peridot
Demantoid Garnet
Ruby
Emerald
Sapphire
Opal
Amber
Platinum Silver
White gold after about 1910
Bohemian Glass
Crystalline Diamond Jewelry
Tri color gold
Cut Steel
Flexible setting sterling silver
Celluloid
Rhinstones
Sterling silver filigree
Camphor glass buttons
Important Designers & Manufacturers:
House of Cartier
Fabrege
Charles Dana Gibson with his "Gibson
Girl" with upswept hair, plunging
neckline
and tiny corsetted waistline.
Couturiers Gaston and Jean Phillippe Worth
dicated fashion and accessories
Architectural designers were kept busy with
the new fad - "greenhouses" to
grow all the fragile, exotic plants
