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Beautiful, tactile piece of Whitby Jet carved in to a cockle shell. This piece is from the Victorian era
Unlike most gemstones, Whitby Jet is organic and is naturally formed from fossilised wood. Like our present-day Monkey Puzzle or Araucaria Tree, prehistoric wood gets washed up into a body of water and becomes covered by organic sediment. The pressure of the water and sediment over millions of years compacts the wood and slowly transforms it into what we know as Whitby Jet stone today.
The colour of Whitby Jet is truly unique, boasting a deep blackness so intense that the expression ‘jet black’ or ‘as black as jet’ derives from the colour of the stone.
When Price Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria took to wearing Whitby Jet jewellery in remembrance of him, quickly making it the etiquette to accessorise the period's mourning dress with jewellery made from the gemstone. Queen Victoria valued the gemstone so that the only jewellery allowed to be worn in court during this period was Whitby Jet.
COLOUR: Black
COMPOSITION: Whitby Jet & Brass
DIMENSIONS: (W)30mm (H)35mm (D)10mm
CONDITION: Excellent
PERIOD: Victorian
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