Bling in the Time of the Regency
Dear Reader, one of my favourite elements in writing about the upper classes in the Regency is designing my characters’ jewellery. In this as in everything else, I try to move within the bounds of what reasonably could have existed, researching what materials were available, what tastes prevailed and so on. The one thing I don’t have to care about is money, which makes a welcome change to reality.
The two main characters in ‘Orbits of Attraction’ are both natural philosphers so it was a natural choice to go with an astronomy theme for the bespoke wedding-ring the groom orders.
An armillary sphere is an obsolete astronomical tool, consisting of a set of rings which form the celestial sphere formerly imagined surrounding earth and later the sun. In the 16th and 17th centuries miniture armillary spheres became popular amongst learned people (men) to wear as rings as tokens of status and knowledge. Pictured below are two examples from the British museum’s collections.
In the Georgian era heart rings of two halves were very popular, often the two drops were crowned by a bow or a crown.
In my fictional instance I imagine it as is in pic above, mounted on a hinge of an armillary ring. The existing diamond and opal is swapped for aquamarine and moonstone (pictured to the sides of the heart ring) because it suites the story better. The date inscription would go on one band and then there are words as well on two or so others. The following is a quote from ‘Orbits of Attraction’.
“Placing her hand in his, a whimsical sunbeam bounced off her wedding-ring. A drop of aquamarine, sparkling like a sunlit ocean, merged with the pearly, blue sheen of a drop of moonstone, to one perfect heart. Surrounded by small rubies in red gold, it crowned the hinge of an armillary ring, which bands could be fanned out to form an orb – a universe, a perfect whole. At once a token of his respect for her scientific pursuits and of his eternal love, Lord Giles had instructed the jeweller to engrave their wedding date 18 8 1818, separated by tiny, enamelled stars, vertically along one of the inner bands so that the eights laying down were also the mathematical symbols of infinity. On two others were written: By force of attraction, our orbits entwined, forged by love into an infinite universe, as everlasting as the stars. Romantic and poetic in his own words, it was sublime!”
Dear Reader, I hope to have the 4th volume of my Regency Tale published and available on Amazon and Kobo in the next weeks.
And with this, I wish all of you, a happy Friday!
