Georigan Memorial Black Enamel Locket ‘In Memory of My Dear Parents’ Antiquaria

Sometimes one might wonder why there was so much memorial jewelry made in the Georgian and Victorian era. There’s many reasons but certainly the meaning of the phrase that’s often connected to these jewels is a good start; they are called Memento Mori, which translates as ‘Remember that you are Mortal’. Disease, accidents, child birth, hunger, so many things killed easily in those times, and people lived closer to death, but they constantly reminded themselves to live, to treat their days as precious and understand that tomorrow was not a given. Something perhaps we’ve lost sight of a little bit in the age of safety and medicine.

This gorgeous locket looks death straight in the face and was crafted for the wearer “In Memory of my Dear Parents”, the back is set with what is likely combined locks of their hair, hair with enough gray that they likely had lived full lives by the time this locket needed to be made. The Black enamel is in excellent condition for its age with just one little chip by the n. It has fancy script initials at the center which are hard to make out but might be ‘EAK’. The locket is 15 karat front and back, it’s unmarked but has been very carefully tested. The top is a swivel and this piece was made in England in about 1820.

This locket measures 47.2 mm north to south and 31.6 mm in diameter, it’s 6.3 mm thick and weighs 13.4 grams.

Item ID: LTA25017VA

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