This talk will look at jewellery design from the neo-Classicism of the late eighteenth century, inspired by the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, to the revival of Gothic art in the early nineteenth century.  Jewellery was not just fashionable but often political, like the guillotine earrings of the French Revolution or the rings made to mourn Horatio Nelson.

Novelists like Austen also used jewellery to move their plots on. The lecture explains how Austen used jewellery in her novels to create an impression of her characters, show their changing affections and reflect on their good taste or otherwise. Wearing a ring set with the hair of the beloved sent a powerful message! Much of the jewellery in Austen's novels was based on her own life, like the topaz cross gifted by her brother which becomes a key plot element in Mansfield Park.