By Carson Eddy, Beadworks Boston

Recently, I received the long, knotted jet bead necklace (shown in the picture to the right) from my Mother. Included with the necklace was this wonderful sepia tone photograph taken in 1912 of my Great-Grandmother, Nellie Carswell Banzhaf. Upon careful observation I realized she was wearing the necklace I had just received.

Nellie was my Mother's, Mother's Mother and this necklace had been handed down from mother to daughter for nearly 100 years. I was immediately struck by my Grandmother's, Mother's and even my own daughter's resemblence to the woman in the photograph. Four generations and nearly 100 years later not only have the beads survived but the family resemblence has as well.

It is a wonderful feeling to share a connection with our ancestors through such personal things as a woman's jewelry. I am reminded that some day by Great-Great-Granddaughter may inherit my strand of tahitian pearls or my faceted ruby necklace. I am reminded that I should cherish the jewelry that I make as the owner of Beadworks Boston, Cambridge and Salem as a connection to the future. I plan to save a photograph taken of me wearing these special pieces of jewelry in my own jewelry box for future generations. My hope is that 100 years from now a woman will feel the bond with me that I do with Nellie.

Despite working with beads every day I knew very little about Jet or the beads and jewelry that have been made from this beautiful material through the ages. I hope you enjoy what I discovered.

Jet is an intense black geological material that has been made into ornaments, beads and jewelry since the Iron Age. Jet is not a mineral but rather a mineraloid because it is organic in origin. It is essentially the fossilized wood of the monkey puzzle tree, an ancient species of conifer. Although jet is described as a dense and homogeneous material, much of it has a woody structure, which reveals that it originated from trees.

During the process of jet formation, wood fragments become impregnated with organic substances. mainly hyrdocarbons that result from decomposition. Coal forms by the this process as well. Jet is actually a compact black varity of lignite, sometimes called brown coal. Lignite is the lowest form of coal and is used almost exclusively as fuel for electric power generation. The high-pressure decomposition of themonkey puzzle tree over millions of years resulted in the formation of two types of jet; hard jet and soft jet. Hard jet is the result of carbon compression under salt water and soft jet is the result of carbon compression under fresh water. Jet, like amber and ivory is a very soft material and only rates a hardness of 2.5 on the Mohs Scale.

Jet occurs in mines around the world including Russia and Central Asia, part of Europe and even in the western United States, but the finest and most significant occurance was found in Whitby, Yorkshire, England during the 19th century. The quality of this material was superior in density, color and ease of faceting.

Jet as a gem and jewelry material did not become popular until the Victorian Era, which began in 1837 and lasted until about 1900. The remarkable luster and shine of polished jet was irresistible. During Queen Victoria's reign Thomas Andrews was engaged to create her jet mounring jewerly. His work went on exhibit and the business of making jet jewelry was born. The demand ofr het mourning jewelry reached its peak in 1861 with the death of both Queen Victoria's mother and Prince Albert. Victoria mourned the loss of Prince Albert for the rest of her life and perpetuated the English fashion of black somber dress until the end of the century. Jet resurfaced as a material for beads in the 1920's when "flappers" popularized extremely long knotted bead necklaces. jet has not returned as a popular bead materal since. Jet remains very collectible though.

The cost and limited availablity of jet has always led to simulants being available in the marketplace. Some examples of simulated jet include French Jet (black glass), Bakelite (early dyed plastic) Ebonite (vulcanized rubber), Horn (stained black) and black gemstones including Black Onyx and Obsidian.

Authenticating jet is essential when considering a purchase of antique jewelry. Most obviously jet is extremely lightweight and is warm to the touch like amber, another organic material. Glass and stone on the other hand are heavy by comparison and are cold to the touch, Since jet is carved and not molded like plastics and rubbers, no seams should be evident. Because of its origin, jet is flammable and will emit and odor like burning coal when rubbed vigorously with a cloth. jet also becomes electrically charged when rubbed with a cloth and will pick up small pieces of paper. The best method for authenicating jet, without destroying the material is to rub a section of the jet across a piece of unglazed pottery. True jet will leave a black mark.

The longevity of interest in jet is epitomized in the following descriptive lines from the English translation of a poem attributed to Orpheus, said to have been written in the 4th century A.D.:

" ... when Jet in rising clouds consumes,
the nose provoking with its pungent fumes.
Black as coal, but yet of lustrous shine,
it blazes up like torch of driest pine;..."

Sources:

http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/dietr1rv/jet.htm
http://www.morninggloryjewelry.com/victorian-jet-jewelry-aid-31.html