Jet, Jewellery and Whitby

During the reign of Queen Victoria, protocol dictated that only Jet jewellery could be worn at court during periods of official mourning. This royal endorsement confirmed the status of Jet as the material of choice for mourning jewellery and fuelled the expansion of the Jet industry in the late 1800′s. Never was this more so than in the period following the death of Victoria’s husband Prince Albert from typhoid fever in December 1861.

Black as Jet

by F.M.Sutcliffe in 1890.

Ah! Black as jet, but long ago
Indignity and lace,
The Ladies wore around their necks
A flash of ebon grace.
But oh! To-day Great Broughton mourns,
Still waves the merry corn,
The beer flows at Jet Miners’ Inn,
But jet’s no longer worn.
Still, fashions change, mayhap some day
Again the craft will thrive,
And Yorkshire jet will ring the earth,
Black, flashing and alive

Jet, especially genuine Whitby jet from the UK, is virtually unobtainable in Australia.

We recently did a pair of Whitby jet earrings for a customer (below), sourcing the jet first in Whitby. We can source jet and onyz beads here if necessary.