Victorian Pique Mourning Brooch

Circa 1880. This type of fabulous pique brooch was especially fashionable in mid-Victorian England (1860s-1880s). Pique was often used in mourning jewelry, hair accessories, brooches, lockets, and earrings. Queen Victoria's long mourning period after Prince Albert’s death made dark-toned accessories deeply popular, and pique’s brown-black tone with gold accents was the perfect mix of subtlety and luxury.