Mastery of Design: A Gold, Ruffled Cuff Bracelet, 1860

Cuff Bracelet
Gold, Turquoise, Pearls
1860
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Queen Victoria made no secret of her love of jewelry and she was known to both write and speak at length on the subject of jewels and, especially, those which she had just purchased or been given. This was, later in her life, a common interest that Victoria would share with her cousin/granddaughter-in-law, “Princess May” of Teck (later Queen Mary) who shared a similar passion for sparkly things.
In a letter written in 1861 to her daughter, Princess Frederick William of Prussia, Queen Victoria described the gifts her husband, Prince Albert, (the Princess’ father) had given to her for their wedding anniversary. Among them, she wrote was, “a beautiful bracelet which he got at Coburg- from Gotha- a large elastic gold bracelet like a cuff - and so pretty.” This was to be the last anniversary that the Queen and Prince Consort would share. Albert would die later that same year.

Such bracelets were quite the fashion in the 1860’s. Known as “Manchette,” they had become popular in France in the 1850’s and the English capitalized on the trend. They were to be worn slightly under the sleeve of a gown and mimicked the look of a cloth cuff. Often, they were adorned with gemstones and pearls.

While this is not the exact bracelet given to the Queen (that one was either bequeathed to one of Victoria’s daughter or granddaughters or is tucked away somewhere in a drawer in the Royal Collection), it’s pretty close. We see the gold has been chased to look like a textile and pleated accordingly. Turquoise and pearl—a popular combination in early Victorian jewelry—forms a buttonhole and button.