Under the Influence of Downton Abbey
January 12th, 2012
Image from Downton Abbey (NYT)
Dame Maggie Smith as Lady Grantham in Downton Abbey
PBS’s Downton Abbey is about a family of titled landowners — or rather due to the English laws of landowning at the time, titled but not necessarily entitled to pass ownership on to female progeny. Women do not have the vote…yet. So what do the the ladies do exactly? The ones living upstairs, as opposed to those toiling below, change their dress three to four times a day (for no apparent reason other than to keep themselves and their household staff busy) and wear jewelry that is reserved yet elegant and luxurious. These delicate pieces were the ultimate in femininity and yet were crafted by the hands of very talented men. It was a man’s world, created, ruled, and apparently, accessorized by men. It’s certainly the kind of irony that wouldn’t be lost on, or go unexpressed by Lady Grantham.
Alexandra of Denmark, later of Wales and wife to Edward VII of England
Air-light filigree was spun in strands finer than hair and crafted in a new metal called platinum. Well, not brand new, platinum had been around since before the eighteenth century, however in the first decade of the twentieth century it was made workable with the advent of the jeweler’s torch. How did platinum change our perspective? Well, it created an entirely new look for jewelry: white, elegant, expensive, and formal. When diamonds were paired with it, this created an uninterrupted river of sparkling white stones set in delicate white metal. With half the weight of their gold and silver predecessors, tiaras, colliers (dog collars), sautoirs or long chains became the order of the day. In later decades, during the 1920s and 30s, platinum and diamond or colored gemstone jewelry became the standard for glamour. Hollywood made it iconic. Prior to the twentieth century, the silver topped, gold backed settings were usually heavy in appearance; while the mounting were sturdy and strong, they dominated over the gemstone. In order to wrangle platinum into ribbons, bows, florals and garlands with steel-like strength, it needed to be alloyed with other metals. By itself the gray-white metal is brittle and stubborn to manipulate. This was also the time when diamond cutting technology improved. Electric lights dimmed the look of the large, hand cut, and carat-preserving lumpish stones with open culets (look straight down into an old mine gem and you will see a circle — that’s the culet). Once the culet was closed (see your own engagement ring for this reference), light could not escape and instead bounced internally creating the brilliant scintillation that is a diamond’s trademark.
Edwardian jewelry at www.nelsonrarities.com
Edwardian jewelry at www.nelsonrarities.com
Sophie von Hohenstein, wife of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand
