The Regency period in British history is commonly regarded as the years from about 1795 to 1837 which is the beginning of the Victorian era. The actual regency was between 1811-1820 when the then Prince of Wales had to take over for his mentally ill father, King George III. This was the monarch who lost the American colonies.

The Regency period was a time of opulence for the very few but an impoverished one for most of the population. One of the most enduring writers from that time was Jane Austen. She wrote about the society she lived in. It was one where the all consuming aim of women was to get married, preferably someone with money. That's because women back then had so few opportunities to earn a living- they had to get married.  

It's also a favorite setting for many novelists including historical romance writer, Julia Quinn, whose Bridgerton book series has been adapted for Netflix - three of a possible 8 books so far. The fantasy and sometimes spicy series has been wildly popular since it debuted in December 2020 when much of the world was in lockdown.

As a result, Regency inspired jewelry has become very popular. Shown here are some of my favorites from designers who know how to rock the style - elegant, baroque designs but all delicately sized. Two of the designers below are beadwork artists.

Shown above the gorgeous Regency style necklace in green by Australian designer, Urmi of GlisterandGlory. Her matching earrings are also fabulous :


Another gorgeous regency era inspired design by the same designer is this lovely chandelier below. There is also a matching necklace (not shown). 


UK beadwork designer, Justine Gage of TooTallToBead has this lovely beaded tutorial version of a Bridgerton series necklace she admired. It's called Marina's wedding necklace.  I have featured this talented designer before here. 


Utah based Michelle Synder of poetryinbeads has this beautiful and appropriately titled, Jane Austen beaded jewelry tutorial. Michelle is another talented beadwork designer whose work I have featured before.


The Canadian designer of MirrorMirrorBijoux got her inspiration from the actual tv series itself. This one is the crystal jewelry set based on that worn by the Penelope Featherington character. 


The same designer also captured the lines of the necklace worn by the Daphne Bridgerton character.


UK designer, Sarah Lakin of HandmadeEarringsuk specializes in period style jewelry. This Regency inspired pair of earrings is gorgeous.  I have also featured Sarah's work before here. She specializes in historical era jewelry based on old portraits. 


Last but not least is this beautiful necklace by French designer, Rosae of Bijouxrosae. 


I enjoyed reading Bridgerton book series and watching the Netflix series for the period background and the storytelling. The Netflix series is based on those books but with a fantasy element. The modern casting makes those stories so much more accessible to a wider audience.
 
The costumes are fabulous. The men's costumes are, by and large, historically accurate but a lot of artistic licence has gone into the women's clothes. The empire silhouette of the dresses is there but in reality, Regency dresses were mostly in pastel shades. And no, corsets are not painfully restricted as is often portrayed in movies.
 
Watch Instyle's amazing video on How the Bridgerton Costumes were Made. You can tell that the designers really enjoyed their work and they took full advantage of the fantasy artistic licence given to them! The gowns are so beautiful!


Part 1 of Season 3 just appeared on Netflix with the second part launching on June 13. Here is the Season 3 trailer :


Before You Go :

 jewelry making supplies

Disclosure 

This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation. 
 ______________________________ 
Original Post by THE BEADING GEM