My current WIP (that’s ‘work in progress’ for all you non-writers) is set in the Gilded Age, and even though more recent history isn’t my favorite time period it does have its rewards. I’ve been researching jewelry for my main character Evangeline Lindenmayer. I call her Angie for short. The dragonfly pin in the photo above is a piece by Rene Lalique. Gorgeous, isn’t it? But it’s not quite the time period and it’s much too fancy.
This is the final aquamarine and diamond pendant I settled on for Angie. It’s fantastic, too. Diamonds, aquamarines, and pearls in a platinum setting. Jewels were a big status item in the Gilded Age (1870 – 1915). Some wealthy women would go to balls literally dripping in diamonds and other precious gems. One husband hired a private detective to follow his wife all night for fear of robbery!
This is the fun part of research for a novel.
Stephanie Thornton says
April 21, 2012 at 7:55 amHa! The private detective is a hoot–what a pain! Unless of course, the husband was worried his wife was getting in some other sorts of trouble too.
Research is half the fun of writing historical fiction!
Stina Lindenblatt says
May 14, 2012 at 1:09 pmI love the dragonfly pin. That's pretty. I've spent way too much time online researching a piece of jewelry for my characters. And I don't even have to worry about getting the time period correct.
Renee says
May 14, 2012 at 1:13 pmIsn't that pin cool? I had someone else tell me they loved it but where would they wear it? And I said, If I owned it, I'd be happy just to look at it. A work of art. Thanks for stopping by.