The Gothic Edit: Victorian Mourning Jewellery for Halloween
Forget plastic fangs and cobweb spray. This Halloween, we're taking our cue from the people who did dark glamour best: the Victorians.
After Prince Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria wore black for the rest of her life, and much of the country followed her lead. Mourning became an art form, with its own dress codes, etiquette and, most beautifully, its own jewellery. Black stones, seed pearls, lockets and rings engraved with names and dates were worn to keep the departed close. Running alongside it all was the older tradition of memento mori - "remember you must die" - a reminder to live fully because life is fleeting.
It's a little macabre, a lot romantic, and exactly the mood for the 31st. Here are the two pieces at the heart of our Gothic Edit.
The Life & Death Mourning Ring
Two worlds, one ring. Our Life & Death Mourning Ring pairs black onyx, standing in for death, with luminous seed pearls for life - frozen together in ornate 925 silver with marcasite detailing.
The design nods to the antique mourning and memento mori rings the Victorians treasured. In their jewellery, pearls were often read as tears, and black stones as the stillness of grief. Here they sit side by side, which feels less like sorrow and more like balance: the light and the dark, both worth wearing.
This is a true statement ring. Wear it alone with a black velvet dress and a dark lip, or stack it with simple silver bands for everyday gothic.
$220 AUD · Shop the Mourning Ring
The Black Dahlia Earrings
If the ring is about endings, the Black Dahlia Earrings are about what blooms afterwards. Each earring is a black onyx flower framed in marcasite, finished with a single teardrop-cut dangle that catches the light as you move.
The idea of life flowering out of death was a favourite Victorian motif, and these earrings walk that fine line between the known and the unknown. Onyx has long been prized as a stone of protection and inner strength - handy on a night when the veil between worlds is said to be thinnest.
Small enough to wear every day, dramatic enough for a candlelit Halloween dinner. Pair them with hair swept back so the dangle can do its work.
$140 AUD · Shop the Black Dahlia Earrings
How to Wear the Gothic Edit
- Halloween night: wear both together. Onyx and silver, head to hand, with black lace or velvet. Costume optional.
- Spring in the southern hemisphere: Halloween here falls in warm weather, so try the earrings with a floaty black slip dress and let the ring be your one heavy piece.
- All year round: these aren't costume jewellery. They're built in 925 silver to be worn long after the pumpkins are gone.
A Little Darkness, Kept Close
The Victorians knew something we sometimes forget: beautiful things can carry heavy meanings, and that makes them more precious, not less. Whether you're dressing for a party or simply drawn to the romance of the dark, the Gothic Edit is made to be kept.
Stock of both pieces is limited, so if one has caught your eye, don't wait for the witching hour.