About Covered Hair Brooches

The glass or rock crystal covered hair brooch was a common way to wear the hair of a loved one. These small treasures displayed the loved one's hair in a variety of ways: the hair could be loosely or tightly woven, grouped by strands or formed into rosettes. Often engraved or monogrammed, hair brooches were highly personal mementos of a loved one; some include hair from more than one person.

Hair jewelry specifically for mourning might incorporate jet or black enamel detailing; pearls are tiny symbols of tears. In the case of memorial hair brooches, these jewelry objects incorporate the use of black as ornamental details. It is important to remember that the earliest stages of mourning were strictly regulated. Although black was the obvious color for mourning jewelry, many distinctions were made about the piece's surface; it was in poor taste, for example, to wear highly polished jet (instead of matte jet) too soon. It would be inappropriate to wear such ornamental brooches in the early stages of mourning.

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