Jewelry In Film - 'The Earrings of Madame de'

Reading this review of Max Ophuls great 1930's film set in Fin de Siecle Paris 'The Earrings of Madame de' reminded me that I wanted to do a series of posts on films where jewelry was part of the plot or just beautifully filmed.
From the WSJ review
The story girding such extravagance may seem simple, but glossy surfaces tend to obscure what lies beneath. The drama centers on a loveless but not unhappy marriage whose delicate balance is upset when a foreign nobleman unexpectedly falls in love with the flirtatious Madame de. . . and she reciprocates his affections. The earrings—costly diamond hearts that were a wedding present from husband to wife—are the tale's catalyst: Unwisely sold by Madame de. . . to pay debts she hopes to keep secret from her husband, they return to the household repeatedly, like the proverbial bad penny, always bringing with them some new twist in the fortunes of the three main characters.
I haven't seen the entire film but it is on my Netflix que
So voila, here is the first 10 minutes of the great Ophuls film.

Film - The Young Victoria

I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to go see 'The Young Victoria' in a theater or not. It seemed, at least from the trailer, more like a Masterpiece Theater production, something that I would rather order on Netflix. But since I'm fascinated with 18th and 19th Century history especially the art, architecture, furniture, clothing and jewelry of those periods, I thought that this was certainly a film to see on a big screen...at least on a cold Sunday afternoon.

Emily Blunt's performance in 'The Young Victoria' didn't have the fire of Kate Blanchett in 'Elizabeth', the gravitas of Judi Dench in 'Mrs. Brown' or the purposefulness of Helen Miren in 'The Queen' but that was due more to the script than to her acting.

And I felt that the script was incomplete in the sense that there wasn't enough back story explaining the situation in England. How many people today have an understanding of this historical period and the fragility of the British monarchy after the Revolutionary War, the madness of King George, the French Revolution, the years of war with Napoleon and the pressures of an expanding empire. The film didn't give us any of this historical context.

But what the film did give us was the importance of royal marriages in terms of strategic alliances, and what made this story extraordinary was the fact that the marriage of Victoria and Albert, was not only a brilliant strategic alliance, but a true love match.

Historical and Romantical!

But let's face it, I really saw the film for the costumes and the jewelry like these silver gilt (silver and gold) diamond earrings and diamond riviere necklace.
And what isn't seen in this photo was Victoria's wedding ring, a gold snake symbolizing eternal love. Something similar to this.

Here we have the riviere again

The swagged necklace and hair ornament

The earrings either in pietra dura or cameo, I can't tell from this photo

The gemstone necklace and earrings with gold cannetille

And the all important wedding parure

The wonderful thing about well made Victorian jewelry is that much of it is wearable today, particularly the earrings and the bracelets. A week ago in Miami I was going to purchase a Victorian suite, in the original box, with natural pearls in a pair of bracelets, a necklace and a tiara...the perfect gift for a bride, but I hesitated. But now after watching 'The Young Victoria' I'd like to have more Victorian jewelry not just because it is rich in history but because it is beautiful.

For more about Victorian and other period jewelry take a look at Gemgossip.com...thanks Danielle, I snagged the photos from your post!