Mourning Jewels Yeah yeah. Just when you thought you heard it
all…out he comes with another one. Okay Benjamin…yawn yawn…tell
us all about it. It’s enough we have to deal with all your ellipses
all the time…but now mourning jewels too? Heh heh…jewels for
mourning? Surely you jest…no?
No! Most emphatically…no! I have a tale to tell. Problem is, the
info is so sparse…except for the graphic…that I have to
extrapolate some. Actually…I have to extrapolate a bit more than
some…but you all don’t mind…do you?
So my friends…what do we wear at a funeral? Answer: We wear black.
I think the color may be universal. And yet… there are those
who–though wearing black…do not want to go to a funeral
underdressed and out of fashion. So what do these folks wear as a
compliment to their mourning garb. Why…they wear jewels with black
enamel…or jet…or black pearls…or even black diamonds. A bit
macabre you say? Well …maybe. But gruesome is as gruesome
does…whatever that means…and one does not want to be out of
fashion…even in the most dire of situations.
But…but but but…what does one do if one wants to remain in fashion
and one doesn’t have the bucks with which to buy the doo-dads to sling
around one’s neck or buckle around one’s wrist? After all…a necklace
of black pearls…or a bracelet of black diamonds doesn’t come cheap.
And the hoi polloi is as entitled as anyone to rub elbows with the
fashionably well to do when it comes to mourning attire.
The answer my friends: Enter Berlin…circa 1830. Foundries are
created in response to the overwhelming need to be fashionably chic
while tossing a loved one six feet under. Neo-Classical honeysuckle
and acanthus are combined with Gothic motifs in order to create
mourning fashion for the poor. And the material mi amigos…the
material with which this jewelry is made…can any of you guess what
material is used? Gold…some of you say… antiqued to look black?
Nope. How about silver…that’s a pretty inexpensive material with
which to make jewelry…easily antiqued to look black…in perfect
keeping with the theme of the day. Is it silver? Nope again.
I will tell you my friends. It is iron. That’s right folks…iron. In
the 1800’s German foundries were creating necklaces and bracelets out
of black iron…specifically to be worn with mourning dress as an
alternative to more expensive jewelry. Of course, it goes without
saying that I would not dare present such an outrageous concept
without graphic proof to back up my statements.
So…for those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits… may
I direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the table menu till you get to the box that says
Tidbits…and inside the box where it says Tidbit Graphics…click on
the link that says: Mourning…and you will see a necklace and a
bracelet made out of iron and which was specifically created to be
worn as mourning jewelry.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark
TYLER-ADAM CORP.–Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel: 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail to: webmaster@tyler-adam.com