Many of the roots of the jewelry made over the following two centuries can be found in the Georgian era (1714 to 1837). This was an era of highly skilled craftsmen making handmade pieces for the wealthy, mainly in 18K and 22K gold.
Different jewelry styles were designated for particular times of day. During the day, women wore necklaces or chains, cameos, small rings, pairs of bracelets and earrings of any length. The chatelaine, a decorative belt hook or clasp worn at the waist, was a very important piece of daytime jewelry. The hook allowed a series of items to be suspended, including pomanders, sewing implements and keys. Many of the things a woman carries in her handbag today might instead have hung from the chatelaine of a stylish Georgian matron.
In the evening, women favored rose cut diamonds in necklaces known as rivières (rivers of light). The diamonds were linked together in graduating sizes to form a circle. They were so popular that they were also made in paste and colored stones set in gold, silver and pinchbeck. Pinchbeck is an alloy of copper and zinc invented around 1720 by Christopher Pinchbeck, a London clockmaker. It looked like gold but was lighter and cheaper, and was used extensively in chatelaines, clocks, watches and buckles. Pinchbeck resisted tarnish for a long time, keeping its bright appearance.
For the fashionable gentleman, perhaps best represented by Beau Brummell, highly decorative shoe buckles and buttons completed an outfit.
New techniques were developed for setting stones. The closed back setting became standard, with stones backed by tinted foil to brighten them and make them glint in candlelight.
Jewelry was romantic and nostalgic, with portrait miniatures, hair jewelry, silhouettes and eye miniatures given as love tokens or remembrances. Portraits were painted for rings and brooches, and woven hair was set into the backs of lockets and brooches. A lover's eye miniature was a painted eye given to a loved one, usually with a compartment on the reverse holding a lock of hair. The eye was meant to be recognizable only to the recipient, so it could be worn in public while keeping the lover's identity secret.
Other materials used by Georgian craftsmen included rock crystal, marcasite, vellum (for portraits) and ivory. Paste, made from glass, was used to imitate gemstones. The glass could be cut to any shape and foiled on the back to add sparkle. Early Georgian paste often had a black dot at the center of the stone to imitate the culet of a diamond. Paste sets were sometimes made to duplicate a lady's real jewels for traveling, in case of robbery.
Garnets were also a popular and more affordable stone, often foil backed to enhance their color. They were used extensively, including in large sets of multifunctional jewelry.
Seed pearls in Georgian jewelry were sourced from the Persian Gulf, Sri Lanka and the Red Sea. Imitation pearls were made from blown glass coated with a preparation of fish scales to add luster.
The Georgian era was one of romance, and the jewelry that has survived is often of the highest craftsmanship.