There are many ways to mourn. Queen Victoria was very good at it. She mourned for her husband for a very long time. Long enough to create a fashion for mourning jewellery. Jewellery to remind us of our own mortality.
The most common way to create black jewellery was to either use jet or bog wood.
Jet is more expensive to mine and has a lovely shine. The jet found at Whitby England has been used since the Bronze Age to make beads. Jet is the fossilized remains of the wood of the Monkey-puzzle tree. I love Monkey-puzzle trees. And I love mourning jewellery.
Bog wood has a matt appearance. I prefer the woodiness of the bog wood.
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| A collection of mourning jewellery |
Julia Ritson
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