HAIR & HORSEHAIR JEWELRY

Hair jewelry was used as mourning jewelry in the eighteenth century when it was the custom to distribute mourning rings containing snippets of the deceased’s hair to mourners at funerals. In the nineteenth century mourning jewelry encompassed many jewelry styles, almost all of them containing a compartment for hair. The wearing of mourning jewelry was subject to the strict mourning codes of the Victorian era. By mid nineteenth century however, it had also become a popular form of sentimental jewelry. Hair jewelry was produced by amateurs as well as professionals.

During the Victorian era, horsehair was sometimes used to strengthen hair and to string seed pearls, but in the first half of the nineteenth century there was also a separate market for it. Shirley Bury cites in her book, (JEWELRY, Volume I, 1789-1910, p. 291) this paragraph:

“Lady Jersey, capitalizing on the vogue for horsehair jewelry, tried in vain to persuade the Duke of Wellington to give her hair for a bracelet from the tail of his famous charger Copenhagen which had carried him to victory in Spain and Waterloo. Unabashed, Lady Jersey resorted to bribing the Duke’s groom in about 1833 to the great indignation of Wellington’s friend, Lady Salisbury.”

Today horsehair jewelry is experiencing a revival. Commercial pieces are available, but there are also a number of individuals, many of them horse owners and lovers who will create custom jewelry for you using hair from your horse’s tail. Horse hair weaving is a time consuming process and requires skill and practice to make a good piece. We think horsehair jewelry makes a wonderful keepsake and is an elegant and appropriate accessory for your western wear.