Did you know...

...that jet originates from trees that existed 170 million years ago??

It was also the gemstone of choice during the Victorian period after Queen Victoria adopted it as her mourning adornment. She mourned from 1861, the year her beloved husband, Prince Albert, died until 1901, the year of her passing. Can you imagine? Love weighing so heavily on you like that?? Lucky for her, jet is also super light weight making it easier to wear on top of the suffocating dress of the time.

There's something intriguing and eery about this stone. Maybe its association with death makes me feel like memories of people are buried deep within its heavy, black color...souls existing in jewelry...the thought of that just makes it so much more awesome! Maybe I just like the color black? I don't know! But this stone resonates with me for some unexplainable reason, and I hope to incorporate into my own work someday.

Other facts about jet:
-When it's warmed, it attracts lint and can support an innate heat, meaning it can spontaneously combust!
-It is associated with the deity, Cybele, aka the 'Great Mother'. She also represents death, vengeance, and fertility.
-Much of it originated from the small seaside town, Whitby Abbey, which is also where Bram Stoker set part of his novel, Dracula.


P.S. The brooch up there has the letters V-I-C-T-O-R-I-A carved into it. Can you see it??