subject: Jewellery Chains With Classic Designs [print this page] People who love classic and timeless pieces would love jewellery chains from the Victorian age. There was so much beauty during the Golden Age of one of the world's greatest civilizations. It is not surprising then to see a lot of the jewellery chains and jewellery designed during that time to reflect the grandeur and wealth of that era. It is simply not just the appearance of these timeless pieces that is so alluring but also the quality and the craftsmanship behind these pieces. Gentlemen use chains for their timepieces. These chains were called Albert chains.
The Albert chain is a watch chain that serves to anchor a man's timepiece to his waistcoat. The Albert chain was and still is used in honor of Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, who frequently wore watch chains in his morning attire. "Albertina Chains" refers to watch chains used by women for their timepieces. The Albertina chains looked more fragile and less masculine but still finer and prettier than men's jewellery chains. The Albertina chains were designed for elegance and less so for function unlike Albert chains.
During the Victorian age, "Albert chains" and "Albertina chains" were made out of silver or gold but men's chains were, in general, larger and bulkier than ladies chains. Many of the watches and jewellery had the same pattern. Men's watches were then almost as large as an average man's palm while a ladies' watch that had Albertina jewellery chains were usually smaller and more decorative. A watch that had a protective cover in its face was called a "Hunter".
In the Victorian age, Double Albert Chains were quite fashionable and popular with gentlemen. It was very common then to carry a fob watch on one end of one Albert chain and a Vesta case on the other end of the other chain. For those who are not familiar with a Vesta chain, it is really just a small air-tight container, made out of silver and sometimes out of gold. It was designed to hold phosphorus matches that were used to light cigars and cigarettes during those times.
Jewellery chains were then used to show a person's social and economic status. When people won awards for sports, business, art and other contests, the medallions were designed so they can hang on watches and let other people know of the wearer's success. Also, jewellery chains were used to show off wealth of one person to other people.
