Mourning Jewelry – Cool or Creepy?

(This is a popular older post that seemed appropriate to share again before the Halloween weekend. Be safe and bedazzle, jewelry hounds!)

Most of us associate jewelry with happy occasions like weddings, birthdays and Valentine’s Day. But many folks are wearing jewels these days that symbolize quite the opposite.

Mourning jewelry is apparently all the rage right now, according to TrendHunter, and with vampire chic taking over our pop culture – from Twilight to True Blood - it’s no wonder.

So what is mourning jewelry exactly?

The earliest examples of mourning jewelry were found in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Black and white enameled heads or skulls were often set into both rings and brooches and worn to signify a period of mourning after the death of a loved one.

The jewelry category reached its height of popularity in England with Queen Victoria after the premature death of Prince Albert in December 1861. Black jewelry soon became a must-have accessory, as thousands of Brits sympathized with their grieving Queen.


In the United States the use of mourning jewelry increased with the outbreak of the Civil War, which included the emergence of hair jewelry – lopped off locks given to loved ones by soldiers who went off to war, often worn as pendants or in closed lockets.


Today, mourning jewelry is making a comeback, with young designers like Anna Schwamborn from London designing a range of styles made with the hair and cremated ashes of loved ones mixed with black bone china. Her “Mourning Objects” collection includes a rosary, necklace and a watch chain tear catcher, among other styles.

So what do you think about this ‘trendy’ jewelry category? Would you wear the remains of your loved one around your neck, for example, or in the form of a ring? Or is the thought of it too morbid to even consider?

I'm curious. Has anyone out there worn mourning jewelry before? Share your story!

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Twisted Baseball Necklace Ropes In Players

With the 2010 World Series underway (GO GIANTS!), I had to get an answer to a question many of my guy-friends have asked me this year:

"What's with those weird rope necklaces?"

I have to admit, while I am thrilled to see the menfolk embrace a jewelry tradition, these things look about as appealing as a twisted chain of sea slugs. And neck ropes? They don't really conjure up the warm/fuzzies, if you get my drift...

But apparently there is method to the rope-filled madness (and I mean 'madness' literally).

Phiten, maker of the official "Phiten rope necklace"explains it this way on MLB.com:

"We have a really unique product. It has the effect to stabilize your electric current inside the body. Every single product has been permeated with what we call the aqua titanium. We have technology to dissolve the metal into the water. That specially treated titanium allows the flow of energy."

"So many players believe in our technology, and at the same time, some players wear [them] as a fashion statement, some as a lucky charm. It all depends. There is a reason why they're wearing it -- that special water we permeate into the fabric."

Special water? Electric currents? Aqua titanium? And I thought we women were the only suckers for jewelry marketing. It's never dull in Mudville.

Baseball players may use twisted logic to rock the Phiten rope, but the Los Angeles Lakers don't need ANY excuse to sparkle in one of these little beauties... See Jewelry.com today for more on what folks are calling the most extravagant championship ring in the history of sports!

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