Queen Victoria and the Fashion for Jewellery Made from Teeth and Hair

Queen Victoria had a strange fondness for teeth. Whether it began when her mother commissioned a gold brooch containing a milk tooth of her eldest daughter, Princess Vicky, or earlier still, the passion grew into an impressive collection of jewellery set with teeth. Among Victoria's best-known pieces with teeth are a thistle brooch and a set of necklace and earrings made from the teeth of stags killed by Prince Albert. Each stag's tooth is engraved with the date on which the animal was killed. Although Queen Victoria wore her dental gold only among her nearest and dearest, the family tradition nevertheless grew into a court fashion and very soon became an organic part of the entire Victorian legacy. That era has bequeathed us a great many variations on the memorial trinket, in teeth as well as in hair. Victoria herself was also fond of handiwork in hair, and she is known to have given her close ones bracelets made with her own hands from her own locks. Hair was woven into necklaces and cuffs, and set into lockets and charms. It may look a little odd, but what a collection of biological material for DNA research!