Wide Range of Secondhand Jewellery
FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING
FULL REFUND ACCEPTED
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
0800 689 5265
new-logo
Product was added to your cart
    MENUMENU
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Jewellery
          • All Jewellery
            • New In
            • Ladies Jewellery
            • Gent’s Jewellery
            • Designer Jewellery
            • Vintage Jewellery
            • Fine Jewellery
            • Contemporary Jewellery
            • Engagement Rings
            • Fine Gems
            • Sale Items
          • Type
            • Rings
            • Watches
            • Earrings
            • Pendants
            • Cufflinks
            • Brooches
            • Stick Pins
            • Charms
            • Necklaces
            • Chains
            • Bracelets
            • Bangles
            • Accessories
          • Metal
            • Yellow Gold
            • White Gold
            • Rose Gold
            • Platinum
            • Silver
          • Precious Gemstones
            • Diamond
            • Emerald
            • Ruby
            • Sapphire
          • Brand
            • Cartier
            • Tiffany & Co.
            • Chopard
            • Bvlgari
            • Theo Fennell
            • Boodles
            • Georg Jensen
            • Rolex
            • Omega
            • All Brands
    • Shop
    • Blog
    • Sell Your Jewellery
    • Reviews
    • Shipping
    • Contact Us
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Jewellery
        • All Jewellery
          • New In
          • Ladies Jewellery
          • Gent’s Jewellery
          • Designer Jewellery
          • Vintage Jewellery
          • Fine Jewellery
          • Contemporary Jewellery
          • Engagement Rings
          • Fine Gems
          • Sale Items
        • Type
          • Rings
          • Watches
          • Earrings
          • Pendants
          • Cufflinks
          • Brooches
          • Stick Pins
          • Charms
          • Necklaces
          • Chains
          • Bracelets
          • Bangles
          • Accessories
        • Metal
          • Yellow Gold
          • White Gold
          • Rose Gold
          • Platinum
          • Silver
        • Precious Gemstones
          • Diamond
          • Emerald
          • Ruby
          • Sapphire
        • Brand
          • Cartier
          • Tiffany & Co.
          • Chopard
          • Bvlgari
          • Theo Fennell
          • Boodles
          • Georg Jensen
          • Rolex
          • Omega
          • All Brands
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Sell Your Jewellery
  • Reviews
  • Shipping
  • Contact Us
FREE UK DELIVERY
MY BAG

Alexandra of Denmark

April 12, 2019Bruno

The first icon in our series is Alexandra Queen of Denmark, who Queen Victoria’s son, Edward, Prince of Wales married in 1863. For years before her coronation, however, the future Queen’s radical style was revered as a fashion icon and her new jewels and outfit choices automatically set trends. In fact, Queen Alexandra was responsible for starting two of the most important jewellery trends of the late 19th/early 20th century: high-necked, dog-collar-like pearl chokers and diamond tiaras.

Early Life

Born Princess Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia or simply ‘Alix’ to her friends and family was raised in an 18th-century townhouse in Copenhagen. Although Alexandra was of royal blood, she had a relatively normal and humble upbringing. Alexandra spent most of her childhood surrounded by family, predominantly her younger sister Dagmar with whom she shared a bedroom. The sisters lived off their father’s army salary and although they both had an early taste for fashion, they spent their free time sewing simple and understated dresses for themselves.

Marriage into Royal Family

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert wanted to ensure they found a suitable candidate to marry their son, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales. The candidate was required to be clever enough and sensible enough to tame ‘Bertie’ as he was known, who had built a reputation in his adolescent years as being frivolous and overindulgent. After the death of her husband, Queen Victoria reached out to her daughter to help them find a fitting suitor. Initially, Queen Victoria was eager to find a German husband for her daughter as most of the British Royal Family’s relations were German, however, none of the propositions was adequate. Eventually after hearing accounts of Alexandra’s charming and amiable qualities and seeing photos, which reaffirmed her choice they left people mesmerised by her beauty the Queen settled on her as “the only one to be chosen”.

Influence in Jewellery: Dog-collar Necklace and Tiara

The pearl and diamond, high-necked choker necklace is one of the most iconic jewels from the Belle Époque era. The necklace has a tight fitting around the neck and is often adorned with various floral designs, buckles and other elaborate motifs. These dog-collar-like necklaces may never have reached such high levels of popularity, however, had it not been for a small scar on Alexandra’s neck that she had had since childhood. Alexandra, who was known to be extremely image-conscious, went to great lengths to try and conceal this scar, especially when seen in public. As a consequence, Alexandra was rarely seen with a bare neck and instead covered herself in multiple layers of diamonds and pearls short necklaces. Alexandra’s influence was so strong that all leading fashion houses began producing variations of the choker necklace and soon enough every proper woman of fine society was seen wearing one. It is quite possible that the small, childhood scar on Queen Alexandra’s neck started a trend in jewellery that proper woman of fine society followed for 50 years. Elaborate diamond tiara was another favourite of Alexandra’s. After her coronation, she was often seen wearing the most elaborate diamond tiara’s to reflect her status in society. This provided huge momentum to another trend and the tiara soon became a staple piece for royalty and wealthy industrialists to copy.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Icons in Jewellery: Princess Diana
  • Fortunato Pio Castellani
  • Jewellery collections through history: Fabergé eggs.
  • Elizabeth Taylor
  • Jewellery Highlights from Cannes 2019

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017

    Categories

    • blog
    • Uncategorized

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries RSS
    • Comments RSS
    • WordPress.org

    32 Hatton Garden London, United Kingdom EC1N 8DL

    T 0800 689 5265

    E sales@thevintagejeweller.co.uk

    Facebook
    Instagram
    Pinterest

    COMPANY

    • Home
    • About Us
    • Jewellery
      • All Jewellery
        • New In
        • Ladies Jewellery
        • Gent’s Jewellery
        • Designer Jewellery
        • Vintage Jewellery
        • Fine Jewellery
        • Contemporary Jewellery
        • Engagement Rings
        • Fine Gems
        • Sale Items
      • Type
        • Rings
        • Watches
        • Earrings
        • Pendants
        • Cufflinks
        • Brooches
        • Stick Pins
        • Charms
        • Necklaces
        • Chains
        • Bracelets
        • Bangles
        • Accessories
      • Metal
        • Yellow Gold
        • White Gold
        • Rose Gold
        • Platinum
        • Silver
      • Precious Gemstones
        • Diamond
        • Emerald
        • Ruby
        • Sapphire
      • Brand
        • Cartier
        • Tiffany & Co.
        • Chopard
        • Bvlgari
        • Theo Fennell
        • Boodles
        • Georg Jensen
        • Rolex
        • Omega
        • All Brands
    • Shop
    • Blog
    • Sell Your Jewellery
    • Reviews
    • Shipping
    • Contact Us

    SHOP BY CATEGORY

    • Designer Jewellery
    • Fine Jewellery
    • Vintage Jewellery
    • Contemporary Jewellery

    SHOP BY TYPE

    • Rings
    • Pendants
    • Bracelets
    • Cufflinks
    • Earrings
    • Watches
    • Charms
    • Brooches

    MY ACCOUNT

    • Shop
    • My Account
    • Basket
    • Checkout
    • Terms & Conditions

    WordPress Customer Support

    Copyright © 2017 The Vintage Jewellers. All Rights Reserved. Web Design Nottingham
    Use of Cookies
    thevintagejeweller.co.uk uses cookies to ensure that we give you the best user experience possible. By accepting or continuing to browse our website you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Jewellery
      ▼
      • All Jewellery
        ▼
        • New In
        • Ladies Jewellery
        • Gent’s Jewellery
        • Designer Jewellery
        • Vintage Jewellery
        • Fine Jewellery
        • Contemporary Jewellery
        • Engagement Rings
        • Fine Gems
        • Sale Items
      • Type
        ▼
        • Rings
        • Watches
        • Earrings
        • Pendants
        • Cufflinks
        • Brooches
        • Stick Pins
        • Charms
        • Necklaces
        • Chains
        • Bracelets
        • Bangles
        • Accessories
      • Metal
        ▼
        • Yellow Gold
        • White Gold
        • Rose Gold
        • Platinum
        • Silver
      • Precious Gemstones
        ▼
        • Diamond
        • Emerald
        • Ruby
        • Sapphire
      • Brand
        ▼
        • Cartier
        • Tiffany & Co.
        • Chopard
        • Bvlgari
        • Theo Fennell
        • Boodles
        • Georg Jensen
        • Rolex
        • Omega
        • All Brands
    • Shop
    • Blog
    • Sell Your Jewellery
    • Reviews
    • Shipping
    • Contact Us