Collecting Antique Lockets

leah posted this on April 6th, 2012

Lockets have been popular since Elizabethan times, when the Queen herself wore a locket ring with a portrait of her mother, Anne Boleyn. By the mid-18th century, mourning lockets were fashionable, usually containing a lock of hair from the deceased. The hair was oftentimes woven into tiny baskets, and might contain a pearl or other small token.

By the 19th century, lockets were most often associated with loved ones, both romantic and familial...

Antique Engagement Rings

ajmorris posted this on February 10th, 2012

Rings have been a popular token of esteem from ancient times. Royalty exchanged rings and other jewelry to memorialize events such as Royal Visits and Coronations. The aristocratic class followed suit and used rings to mark their lesser occasions, like birthdays and holidays. As societies became ever more democratic and egalitarian, the common classes did their best to imitate the wealthier models, and used rings to symbolize their bonds...