It took nearly a century for
Suffragette jewelry to be "discovered". Buzz surrounding
the 2004 film Iron-Jawed Angels did the trick -- just as the
recent spate of World War II movies gave impetus to collecting jewels
and other items associated with the war, and as Pirates of the
Caribbean sparked interest in maritime themes. As you know if you
saw the film, vast suffering was associated with gaining suffrage:
Women were run down by horses while protesting, arrested, jailed, beaten
and forcibly fed when they declared hunger strikes.
Along with
greater knowledge of their sacrifices came the desire to own pieces of
the Suffragettes' history, especially those that could be worn with gratitude and
pride (or bestowed as gifts on the heroines in our own lives). Hence, an avant-garde
has already made quite an impact on prices. However,
because plenty of people haven't caught up with what Suffragette jewels
are, we still have an opportunity to make wonderful finds at local
sales, thrift stores and even some antique shops. It could
really pay to keep your eyes open for these.
The majority of Suffragette jewelry is
Victorian, because the movement -- after seething underground for a
while in women's colleges -- took off in the 1840s. It continued
to be produced in the Edwardian era, in the transitional period that
preceded Art Deco and also through most of the Deco years. Although all American women were enfranchised in 1920, British women
without property didn't attain the vote until 1928, so the last
celebratory pieces honoring that achievement were made around
1930.
By that time, a global economic depression was
underway -- which strengthened the impulse to update old jewelry, as did
the subsequent years of World War II rationing, when "make do
and mend" was not only a patriotic motto but an utter
necessity. By the time the war ended, there had been 15 long years
of hardship and people understandably wanted everything to be
brand-new. The small amount of Suffragette jewelry that was still
intact was tucked away and forgotten, as Rosie the Riveter morphed into
Donna Reed.
Then came my generation and the next -- raised
without a clue that Suffragette jewelry had ever existed. Until a
couple of years ago, if we saw purple and green together, we
automatically thought "Mardi Gras" and expected to see yellow
with them! Obviously, we must beware of
clowns, masks and other motifs related to Mardi Gras, when searching now for
Suffragette jewels. I have similar doubts about designs that include purple
flowers like violets and lilacs. As prices keep rising, we'll also
need to beware of fakery in the form of altered stones or beads,
since it would be easy for the dishonest to introduce a color or two to
complete the Suffragette palette.
The "Is It Really
Suffragette" Checklist
Here's a
quick checklist you can use along with the circa-dating charts in
our newsletters on particular forms of jewelry (necklaces, earrings,
bracelets, brooches, rings, etc.), archived for permanent
reference at
www.glitzqueen.com/newsletters.html.
1. Does the piece feature white or
near-white along with some shade(s) of green and some shade(s) of
purple -- and, if the colors come from stones or beads, do they
appear original? No additional colors should be present, except
for metal (if used).
2. Does the style indicate a dating between 1840 and 1930?
3. Are the findings, if not later replacements, of types made
before 1930?
4. If the item is of marked silver, is it stamped Sterling
(rather than the later 925) or with another known purity mark of early
date?
5. Can you rule out any obvious connection to Mardi Gras?
6. Is the design something other than a naturalistic portrayal of
such flowers as violets and lilacs?
7. Do you observe age-appropriate surface wear? (There are
exceptions to this, since some Suffragette jewels were little worn.)
Photos shown are from our array
of Suffragette Jewels -- from which items have been disappearing almost
as fast as we can get them. |
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And What's It All About?
Especially when caught up in a new
collecting enthusiasm, I'm drawn to reflect on jewelry collecting as a
whole. I can't help puzzling over what we're doing, when we do it, and why
(possibly because one of my degrees is in philosophy). Here
are my latest thoughts on the topic and, again, I invite you to share
yours. It would be fun to send out a newsletter sharing various responses.
It seems to me that there are three things going on: first, an
appreciation of what historic jewelry is intrinsically; second, what
owning it represents objectively; and, finally, how it makes us
feel.
On the first subject, of course its quality exceeds that of
modern jewelry. Artisans today can be very creative, but they just
don't have the skills necessary to attain the same level of detail and
general fineness. Value goes right along with that,
because no amount of money would allow a good piece of Victorian,
Edwardian or early Art Deco jewelry to be reproduced today; it simply
couldn't be done, regardless of how much we might be willing to pay.
There's also the glamor of the designs, compared to
"clunkier" modern creations. Very little contemporary
jewelry has real grace. And then there's rarity.
When only one or a few items of a certain form survive, having been made
to last and cherished through time, each is a very special treasure --
much more special than modern things available to everyone able to pay the
price.
Objectively, owning jewelry with all of these intrinsic merits provides
great investment potential. Barring a global depression,
they can't do anything but keep appreciating. And wearing historic
jewelry connects us with others; it's is an instant
generator of compliments and questions, inviting us to share our
knowledge of these fascinating pieces. They reflect an aristocracy
of taste that isn't a bit snobbish, because you don't have to born into
it; membership is open to everyone who wants to learn (and there's always
more for us to learn).
Moving on to the subjective level, of course there's the thrill of
the hunt, but that can be only part of the picture, since it
applies to every form of collecting. Of course the continual
learning required for doing that well keeps our minds lively, fostering intellectual
health. There's also emotional health in
surrounding ourselves with rare beauty, in experiencing ourselves as part
of a perspective larger than today's triumphs and troubles and in
developing satisfying "signature styles" that express
identity. When jewels of a certain type or period speak to us, I
believe there's an underlying reason that goes to the core of who we are
-- and our reasons can change as we do. Through adornments, we
"brand" and re-"brand" ourselves as we grow and our
lives undergo alteration. As Carrie said in Sex and the City,
"Breakups: bad for the heart, good for the economy."
Like her Manolos and Moschinos, our historic jewels are rewards and
consolations, but Carrie's fashionista fetishes weren't also
destined to become a lasting legacy, as heirloom jewels will
surely be. Just as they link us to the past in meaningful ways, they
project our inner being forward for generations. Assuming our collections
stay together, people not yet born will someday strive to understand us --
and do not badly at it -- based on considering the selective eye that
chose those particular jewels.
Likewise, when we choose historic jewels as gifts for others, it reflects
a connection far deeper their obvious suitability for celebrating landmark
occasions with due regard. They say, in a very important sense,
"I see you," and perhaps in an even more important sense,
"I see what you will be." I was enormously moved recently
when a customer in Ireland ordered a pair of Victorian shamrock cufflinks
-- and told me they were a christening present. Imagine how proud
that boy will be, when old enough to wear them, and what esteem he'll feel
for the person who picked them, instead of a long forgotten
"baby" gift.
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