Warwickshire in 100 Objects: Victorian Hair Jewellery

This watch chain is made with plaited human hair. It was gifted to Warwickshire Museum in 1962 by former museum curator Jocelyn Morris. It belonged to her grandfather, John Brown, and she believed it was made using his late wife’s hair.

In the Victorian period “hair jewellery” was popular and it was not unusual for men to have watch fobs made from their wives’ hair. It was particularly common to incorporate the hair of a deceased loved one into various types of mourning jewellery.