Your Cart is Empty
The earliest evidence of jewellery dates back to the Paleolithic era, around 2.58 million years ago. Throughout the millennia since, jewellery has served as much more than simple ornamentation; it’s a language of sentiment and intention. At Lebrusan Studio, we create heirloom jewellery to celebrate milestones, reimagining the symbolism of the past with contemporary twists. Continually we find ourselves drawn to the eccentricities of the Victorian era as a source of inspiration, with our new Alchemista’s Box collection reclaiming and repurposing antique Victorian components.
The Victorians were master storytellers, encoding messages within rings, lockets, and brooches through an intricate system of symbolism. Their jewellery was deeply personal, carrying hidden meanings through the language of birthstones, flowers, celestial symbols and even hair... This blog post is an exploration of how we can continue to embrace these traditions in the modern context to communicate via the medium of jewellery.
Birthstones have been woven into jewellery for thousands of years, originating from ancient civilisations such as the Egyptians and Greeks, who believed that gemstones channel specific energies and blessings aligned with one’s birth time. The wearing and gifting of birthstones was already an established tradition by the Victorian era, but Queen Victoria’s well-documented love of the emerald – her May birthstone – further cemented the popularity of gemstones that hold personal significance to the wearer.
It was also the Victorians who popularised the phenomenon of acrostic jewellery - combinations of gemstones whose first letters spell out meaningful words. ‘Adore,’ for example, was a popular choice; represented by an amethyst, diamond, opal, ruby and emerald in that order. The appeal of this approach lies in its duality: creating a piece of jewellery that is visually striking for the world’s eyes, whilst its wearer carries a private and intimate meaning close to their heart.
Research shows that an emotional connection to a piece of jewellery greatly impacts the longevity of its lifespan. Since we design jewellery to prosper - to be cherished from one generation to the next - we invite you to customise our design blueprints with gemstones of your choice. Our Atahensic Twins rings, for example, are designed to be reimagined with personal birthstone combinations.
Expanding on this tradition of paying homage to one’s birth time, our bespoke designs are also regular incorporators of Zodiac references. A bespoke pendant we created for E a few years back, for example, features tiny blue sapphires in star-shaped settings, arranged in the constellations of Sagittarius and Virgo – the star signs of her children.
One of the most compelling aspects of Victorian jewellery is its devotion to sentimentality; mourning jewellery, hair work pieces, and keepsake lockets preserved memories in tangible forms. At Lebrusan Studio, our bespoke remodelling service is an opportunity to transform heirloom pieces into wearable designs that maintain their emotional weight whilst offering greater practicality and better reflecting modern trends. From refurbishing a 1.5ct antique diamond and rehoming it in a shiny new platinum solitaire setting, to melting down a late relative’s hand-engraved wedding band and recasting the white gold as three friendship rings that pay homage to the original design, our bespoke remodelling projects honour an enduring tradition that reflects the human desire to own jewellery which resonates on a deeply emotional level.
Our Alchemista’s Box Collection, meanwhile, further reimagines the timeless practice of remodelling by reclaiming broken diamonds and antique Victorian components like chunky gold chain, T-bar clasps and tassels. Alchemy is the seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination. Reimagining these once-discarded parts with the help of newly designed components in recycled gold, Alchemista’s Box revels in the possibilities of circularity and embodies alchemy in action. As we transition from an era of overabundance into one of resource scarcity, the unique treasures inside the Box redefine the notion of ‘misfits’ and demonstrate a new opportunity for us to continue honouring our histories in the contemporary context. Each unique necklace, ring and pair of earrings in the collection is named in homage to a Victorian woman alchemist(a) who paved the way before us.
Floriography - or the language of flowers - flourished in the 19th century.
The Victorian era saw the introduction of proper etiquette among society’s upper echelons, with a number of new rules prohibiting outright flirtations between individuals. At the same time, the expansion of the British Empire introduced Victorian Brits to all manner of exotic flora and fauna, provoking an explosion of interest in horticulture in the UK. Before long, the gifting of beautiful flowers became a means of conveying emotions that couldn’t be addressed out loud; to send secret messages of interest, affection and desire.
Different flowers were thought to embody different meanings, with tulips symbolising passion, bluebells representing kindness and purple violets conveying thoughts occupied with love, to touch on just a few.
Our detailed designs have long been inspired by the forms of Mother Nature, largely interpreted through the time-honoured art of hand-engraving. Our Orange Blossom and Florere motifs are two in-house signatures, but we’ve collaborated with our clients on countless custom floral patterns in the past, from specific vines to birth flowers. In a world where mass production and minimalism is increasingly stripping objects of their deeper significance, a piece of jewellery is a wonderful opportunity to incorporate considered delicate, considered symbolism.
The 19th century ushered in significant developments in maths, physics, chemistry and geology to understand the makeup of celestial bodies and the origins of the Universe. As such, the Victorians were captivated by the solar system, a fascination illustrated by the salience of celestial motifs like stars, crescent moons and suns in Victorian jewellery design. Serving as a ‘second language’ of love, friendship and loyalty – much like flowers – these emblems symbolised guidance and wisdom.
Just as we look to the stars for counsel, star motifs represented good luck and direction. Meanwhile, crescent moons were said to symbolise the powerful feminine ‘moon goddess,’ an inspiring symbol of women entering the workforce during the Industrial Revolution. In fact, associations with the lunar calendar positioned moon emblems as a widely recognised symbol of change, gifted in light of new relationships. For example, it was traditional for a Victorian bride to wear a brooch with a crescent moon cradling a flower on their honeymoon, giving rise to the name ‘honeymoon brooches,’ harking back to the age-old idea of the sky serving as a map to guide travellers home.
As a side note, numeral symbolism played a similar steering role in Victorian thinking. Numerology – the study of the relationship between numbers and events – was used commonly by Victorian Christian mystics to help people develop personally. Cosmic numerology, which combines numerology and astrology, was a popular belief system at the time, assigning numbers to planets to help people gain self-knowledge and improve their relationships. The highest number on the dice, the number of sides on a snowflake, and the Pythagoreans’ first perfect number, six is thought to symbolise strength and balance. Associated with Venus – the planet of love and harmony – it’s also thought to represent care and a desire to look after loved ones.
In contemporary jewellery, celestial symbolism continues to resonate, offering wearers a sense of destiny, protection, and spiritual connection. Whether authentic Victorian moon and star brooches repurposed as stud earrings or a commitment ring studded with diamond ‘stars,’ celestial elements serve as a timeless reminder that we are all part of something vast and infinite.
At Lebrusan Studio, we believe that the most beautiful jewellery is that which tells stories. That’s why we draw inspiration from the Victorian approach, steeped in meaning. By engaging with the power of birthstones, repurposing resilient precious materials and intriguing antique components, and integrating inscriptions and historic symbolism into our designs, we craft pieces that foster emotional connection, rich with personal significance. Our clients come to us not just for jewellery, but for heirlooms that will carry their stories forward in a way that words alone cannot. By honouring the past whilst embracing a modern sensibility, we create jewellery that transcends time: classics with intellectual twists.
If you have enjoyed this article and would like to learn more about ethical jewellery, make sure you sign up below to receive our newsletter and tell a friend about our services. Don’t forget to give us a call or drop us an email if you need further advice.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for daily behind the scenes updates.
Love, Arabel & Team
It's possible to embrace the beautiful materials that Mother Nature offers us without harming our beautiful planet. By asking questions, simplifying supply chains and sharing our knowledge with the world, we can achieve this balance.
