The Victoria and Albert Museum houses almost 3 million objects, books, and archives that span over 5,000 years. The V&A Museum has numerous galleries and exhibits that guests can get lost in. I was personally one of those guests. While I normally find myself drawn to paintings, I spent most of my time in the V&A Museum in the jewelry archive. One of the highlights of the collection, in my opinion, was the sapphire and diamond cornet worn by Queen Victoria and given to her by her husband, Albert, early on in their marriage. She wore it after his death, symbolizing their eternal love.
It is really interesting to see the jewelry worn throughout different time periods. However, it is obvious that these pieces were only worn by the wealthy members of the community. The necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, and other pieces in the collection are obviously of much importance and value, meaning they had to have belonged to the high society of the time. I am positive that the makeshift jewelry donned by the poor is not the sight to behold as the intricate mini portraiture pieces found throughout the gallery. This point is further supported by the jewelry set I found given to a ‘Miss Coates’ by the Prince Regent, to be worn on the day of his daughter’s wedding. While Miss Coates was sure to have been one of the Princess’s ladies in waiting, she was put in charge of keeping a close on her by the Regent, making her very important. The jewelry set gifted to her signifies her status as an individual more valuable than those around her.
I also don’t think that much has changed since then. Today, it is still only the upper class that can wear expensive and decadent jewels. The only difference is that the poor have gotten better at concealing their lack of wealth. With more access to different parts of the world, it has been easier to obtain “fake” jewelry and knock-offs of some very high-end pieces. This is even still seen in the gallery of the jewelry room. There is a butterfly ring belonging to Beyonce. This ring is made from many tiny, priceless stones and the fake recreations of it would never be caught dead behind the glass of the museum’s gallery.
