Mourning Hair Jewellery
Mourning hair jewellery preserves personal memory in intricate woven strands set within gold, glass and pearl.
Mourning Hair Jewellery
Mourning hair jewellery encompasses rings, brooches, lockets, pendants and vinaigrettes designed to commemorate the deceased through the incorporation of human hair. These intimate artefacts survive from the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian eras, reflecting deeply codified periods of remembrance and sentimentality.
On this page, buyers are most likely to encounter rings and brooches fashioned from gold, glass and seed pearl alongside intricately worked hair. Pieces span early Georgian examples through to Edwardian designs, demonstrating the enduring practice of keeping physical mementoes close to the body.
The forms vary from simple band rings set with purple glass stones to elaborate open lockets and engine-turned pendants. Each item serves as both a personal talisman and a wearable monument, capturing the mourning customs of past centuries in durable materials.
Materials and construction
Gold forms the primary structural metal for these pieces, appearing in various purities including nine-carat, fifteen-carat, eighteen-carat and eighteen-karat yellow gold. Metalworkers shaped these precious elements into bezels, pins, ring shanks and locket frames to securely house delicate biological mementoes.
Hair work constitutes the defining decorative technique, where human strands were meticulously braided, woven or arranged behind glass. Artisans combined these fibrous designs with seed pearls, enamel and purple glass stones to enhance the visual depth and symbolic meaning of the memorial.
Mourning Hair Jewellery Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for mourning hair jewellery among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Someone spent hours carefully weaving a departed loved one's hair into a tiny, perfect floral wreath behind glass.
Assessing quality and craftsmanship
Quality in these pieces is dictated by the complexity of the hair work and the refinement of the metal setting. Intricately braided or pictorial hair arrangements demonstrate a higher degree of artisan skill than straightforward, loose insertions.
The choice of accompanying materials also elevates a piece, with the inclusion of natural seed pearls, high-carat gold and enamel denoting superior workshop production. Conversely, simpler forms utilising glass stones and lower-carat metals represent more modest tiers of period manufacture.
Jacob Amyand
The Mourning Hair Jewellery Glossary
- Hair work
- The decorative technique of arranging human hair into intricate patterns, braids or pictorial scenes to be encased beneath glass in memorial pieces.
- Seed pearl
- A very small, naturally formed pearl often used in period jewellery to border compartments or accent floral and sentimental motifs.
- Vinaigrette
- A small ornamental box featuring a perforated inner grille, historically used to hold a sponge soaked in aromatic vinegar.
- Engine-turned
- A mechanical decoration technique producing precise, intricate geometric patterns engraved into metal surfaces such as gold lockets.
- Locket
- A small hinged pendant designed to open and reveal a concealed interior space for holding hair, miniatures or portraits.
Mourning Hair Jewellery: Frequently Asked Questions
What is mourning hair jewellery?
Mourning hair jewellery consists of wearable keepsakes incorporating actual human hair, created to remember and honour deceased loved ones. These pieces combine sentimental human elements with precious metals and stones.
Items range from everyday rings and brooches to elaborate lockets and pendants designed to keep the memory of family members physically close.
How do I date these pieces?
Dating relies on stylistic clues, gold hallmarks, and the specific construction methods used during periods like the Georgian and Victorian eras. Earlier Georgian items often feature distinct closed-back settings and specific motifs.
Later Victorian and Edwardian examples show shifts in metal standards and fastener designs, helping to narrow down the decade of manufacture.
Were these pieces worn daily?
Many mourning rings and brooches served as everyday personal items, worn constantly by the bereaved as a sign of devotion and grief. The durability of gold and glass protected the delicate hair work within.
More elaborate lockets and pendants might have been reserved for specific occasions or kept within dedicated display boxes when not worn.
How should I care for mourning hair jewellery?
Care requires keeping these delicate pieces away from moisture, harsh chemicals, and ultrasonic cleaners to protect the internal hair work and glass seals. Gentle dusting with a soft, dry cloth is sufficient for maintenance.
Storing them flat in lined boxes prevents unnecessary strain on hinges, pins, and delicate braided strands.