Commemoration and Memorial Jewellery and designing the Oak Heart Casket Pendant

I've always been interested in mourning jewellery. I have often wandered around the V&A, looking at their collection in the jewellery room - over the years I've also been commissioned to design pieces of mourning and memorial jewellery - you can take a look at some of the pieces of memorial jewellery I've created here. 

Mourning Jewellery 

Mourning jewellery in the Victorian era (1837-1901) was a unique and elaborate form of personal ornamentation worn to express grief and commemorate the dead. It became especially popular after the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, in 1861. Queen Victoria's deep mourning and her lifelong devotion to Albert led to a widespread fashion for mourning attire and jewellery across British society, which influenced mourning customs throughout Europe and America.

Victorian mourning jewellery was rich with symbolism, often featuring motifs that conveyed grief, mortality, and eternal life.

Brooches and lockets are perhaps the most common forms of mourning jewellery. Lockets would often contain a photograph, or a lock of hair from the deceased, worn close to the heart. Brooches were often inscribed with the name, or death date, of the deceased, or had hair woven into their design.

Rings were often engraved with the name and age of the deceased. They could also incorporate small amounts of hair in intricate patterns.

Bracelets and necklaces might include strands of woven hair from the deceased or feature jet beads and mourning symbols.Jet earrings, often in the shape of teardrops, became quite fashionable.

Locket to keep a loved ones hair

In August 2018 a lady came into my shop and said "you won't remember me, but I remember you from 27 years ago," she pointed at her neck. I had made a silver locket to carry her son's lock of hair, after he was tragically killed in an accident, at the age of just 23 years old. She continued "I have worn it around my neck without taking it off since the day I got it. It has given me so much comfort and many people have commented on it ."

She had commissioned me to make the locket via the Crafts Council at the V&A after searching for a locket for months and not liking any she found. She saw my work at the museum and they told her that I could make something special for her. She also liked the connection that I was about the same age as her son. We met at the museum and designed it together - it was very emotional. When moving house a year ago, she found the letter I had written to her, at the time and looked me up online. She had come especially to my shop, in order to buy a special gift for her youngest son's girlfriend.

 The most touching part of this experience was when she took the necklace off her neck for the first time ever and let me hold it in my hands, once more. I also very much wanted to take a photograph of it to make it a special memory for me. It was a day I will never forget, it was humbling. I am a mother now and the pain of such a loss is hard to imagine. She was an amazing warm and loving woman and I appreciate her coming back to let me see that very special piece once more.

Pendant to contain a loved ones ashes

Then, in November last year, I received an email from a customer saying she had lost her son a year ago and wanted to find a way to have him with her every day. She had searched for something specifically with this intention, but hadn't found anything she had liked. So we embarked on designing and making a pendant necklace, incorporating three charms that she liked, one would have some of his ashes inside it.

It was a huge honour to be chosen for this, but it also felt like a huge responsibility too. I was a little nervous, but she made it so easy for me. She arranged to have some of his ashes sent in the post to me when I was ready. They arrived in this special sealed pot. It was a day I will never forget, as to be given this commission was extremely important to us both.

I filled the Textured Pod, with some of Ben's ashes. I was able to choose the larger pieces to put inside, as I knew that the finer dust particles would make it more difficult.

Then I carefully soldered a top on the pod, sealing them inside forever. They can be totally private, as nobody ever need know they are there, unless the owner wants to tell them. It was a very intense emotional moment, as I soldered them inside their tiny casket.

The final pendant had three charms - the sunflower, the feather and the oxidised silver pod, containing the ashes.

I met Claire the day she collected the pendant from my shop and I put it around her neck. She was so lovely and so easy to talk to and truthfully I was in total awe of how together and open she was, about this sensitive and difficult situation.

Testimonial from a customer

Claire kindly wrote a testimonial for me.

"At the beginning of November 2024, as we approached the first anniversary of my son’s death, I reached out to Catherine to see if something could be made for me.

Since losing Benjamin I knew I wanted a piece of jewellery which would allow me to have him with me at all times. I’d put off reaching out to enquire about the possibility of custom jewellery because I felt so protective of my loss and was apprehensive about how this request would be received. However, when I eventually contacted Catherine, I knew straight away I had made the right choice.

Catherine communicated with compassion and patience. She talked me through different options and welcomed my own ideas. She offered invaluable advice about the look and feel of the jewellery. The resulting necklace is more beautiful than anything I could have imagined. Wearing my necklace brings me so much comfort and joy, I will treasure it forever."

Acorn Heart casket pendant

This got me thinking that I would like to design and make a piece of jewellery to go on my website, especially to contain human or animal ashes. A memorial piece for people that wanted to keep someone they love close to them. I felt strongly that it needed to have a connection to love and to the heart, but also to nature.

One of my favourite shapes in nature the acorn. With its highly textured cap, each slightly different, that contains the beautiful smooth shape of the acorn.

The acorn symbolises potential, growth and new beginnings because a mighty oak tree grows from this small seed. It also represents strength, endurance, good fortune, and wisdom, qualities associated with the long-lived oak tree. Historically, people carried acorns as good luck charms, and they were popular motifs in jewellery, literature, and architecture to convey these meanings.

This is the old oak tree at the end of my garden and I think oak trees are truly magnificent trees.

Designing the small ashes casket

As I sketched, I soon realised that I wanted to combine the two shapes and symbols together; to make it heart shaped but look like an acorn, with the beautiful lumpy cap, decorated with my signature bobbled texture.

The cap on the top makes a perfect lid for the small vessel, that will contain the precious ashes of a loved one.

Catherine's Oak Heart Casket Sketchbook

Here is my sketchbook layout for the final design.

Final hollow pendant to contain ashes

Here is the final design it can be plain or personalised with engraving, words, initials or a motif, or even set with a precious stone. The container needed to be large enough to contain the ashes but small enough to be comfortable to wear every day.

Here is the final wax, back from my talented wax carver, ready to be cast in metal.

Oak Heart Memorial Casket Pendant 

Here is the finished silver container for the ashes which will be placed inside the plain silver hollow vessel and the textured lid soldered on top, keeping your loved ones ashes safe forever.

It has a lovely detail, the small bail, or loop, on top from which it hangs, that has a bobbled texture to match the lid. 

The chain can be ordered at any length and looks nice both worn long and short. Here it is shown at a shorter length. The top of the pendant is oxidised silver the bottom polished silver and worn on a silver trace chain.

Here it is worn at a long length and in all silver on a silver chain.

It is just the right size, large enough to have some ashes inside but also a perfect size to wear. It is chunky, bold and tactile to hold, but still light enough to be comfortable to wear everyday.

It is a very tragic life changing event losing any loved one, even if they have lived a long life and it is part of the circle of life. I have been totally humbled over the years by the strength of the women that have come into my life and that have experienced the extreme and unnatural loss of a child. I am honoured to have been asked by two of them, who asked me to make them a piece of jewellery to celebrate the life, love and intense bond that they share with their sons.

I have designed a piece especially for the purpose of holding a loved ones ashes because I did not like the designs, already available. I hope that I have succeeded in making something that is attractive as a piece of jewellery, with the appropriate symbolism involved, and that will give comfort to the wearer, as they keep the spirit of the person that they love, close to their heart.

You can order an Oak Heart Casket Pendant necklace here. 

I would like to credit Shirley Bury, formally keeper of the department of Metalwork at the V&A for her informative jewellery books, that I purchased from the V&A shop many years ago, when I was a student. I have used some of the mourning jewellery images for this blog.