Which gold alloys are historically typical of mourning jewellery?

Several alloys dominate, depending on the period. Georgian (1714–1837): soft 18–22 carat gold of high purity and intense gold colour. Early Victorian (1837–1870): 18 carat as the standard, frequently covered with black enamel. Late Victorian (1870–1901): increasingly 14 carat and 9 carat (permissible in Great Britain from 1854), often matted in order to reduce the shine. Modern: 14 carat (585) and 18 carat (750) as the standard, supplemented by rose gold and matt yellow gold for historicising memorial pieces.

Why was gold in the mourning context often matted?

Under the strict Victorian mourning dress code (see The Middle Classes and Mourning Jewellery in the Nineteenth Century) visible shine was considered inappropriate. Matted gold - produced by an acid bath or by mechanical matting - conformed to this code without the material itself having to be changed. One alternative was to cover the gold ground with black enamel (see Black Enamel (Schwarzemail)) - a technique that was standardised at the height of mourning fashion (1860–1880).

Is gold still used for memorial jewellery today?

Yes - gold remains the dominant carrier material for high-quality memorial jewellery. Current memorial pieces mostly use 14 carat (585) or 18 carat (750), frequently in yellow gold or rose gold. With fingerprint jewellery (see Fingerprint Pendant) gold permits very fine detail relief that would be harder to realise in stainless steel or silver. Ash pendants and memorial diamond settings (see Ash Pendant, Memorial Diamond) are likewise predominantly made in gold.

Gold in Mourning Jewellery

Gold is historically the most dominant carrier material of mourning and memorial jewellery - usually in muted alloys, often contrasted with black enamel or as a restrained gold setting around a dark principal material such as jet, onyx or a plait of hair.

Deutsch