What is a Victorian book chain?

A Victorian book chain is a piece of jewelry — usually a necklace — that can be found in gold, sterling silver and other materials. Each link in the chain is a rectangle-shaped piece of folded metal that resembles a book. Shop a collection of vintage and modern Victorian book chains from some of the world’s top jewelers on 1stDibs.

Antique Victorian Chain

Victorian Gold Watch

Gold Bar Link Chain Necklace

Safety Chain

Victorian Silver Necklace

Longuard Chain

Gold Dog Clip

Materials

Materials

Pearl

Unavailable

Victorian Necklace

Located in NY, NY

15KT VICTORIAN TURQUOISE NECKLACE, 17.70 dwt.

Category

Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Victorian Chain

Materials

Turquoise, 15k Gold

Antique Victorian French Guard Chain Silver, circa 1880

Unavailable

Unavailable

W 0.5 in L 17.5 in

Victorian Ornate Gold Etruscan Link Book Chain Necklace

Located in Narberth, PA

This gold book chain from the Victorian era (ca1880) is quite an outstanding piece!

Category

1880s English Victorian Antique Victorian Chain

Materials

15k Gold

Antique Victorian Silver Chain Necklace Crystal, circa 1900

Unavailable

Antique Victorian Silver Chain Necklace Crystal, circa 1900

Located in Lancaster, Lancashire

To read more please click continue reading below- This stunning long antique Silver chain is a genuine Victorian piece, Circa 1900.

Category

Early 1900s British Victorian Antique Victorian Chain

Materials

Crystal, Silver

Victorian Gilt Metal Gaspipe Chain and Locket Necklace

Unavailable

L 16.93 in

Victorian Gilt Metal Gaspipe Chain and Locket Necklace

Located in Wigan, GB

A wonderful and dramatic Victorian necklace featuring a stylish gaspipe chain.

Category

Late 19th Century Unknown Victorian Antique Victorian Chain

Materials

Gilt Metal

Unavailable

Victorian Gutta Percha Cross Necklace with Graduated Link Chain

Located in Chicago, IL

This beautifully carved, gutta percha necklace has a wonderful, Victorian Gothic quality. The chain is bold, and the graduated links each have two holes.

Category

Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Victorian Chain

Victorian 14k Guilloche Enamel Fob

Located in Narberth, PA

A spectacular guilloché fob from the Victorian (ca1880s) era! Crafted in vibrant 14k yellow gold, this piece begins with a watch swivel clasp, which would allow the piece to secure t...

Category

1880s Victorian Antique Victorian Chain

Materials

Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel

An antique yellow gold chain, comprising fancy links and a safety chain, in 14 karat yellow gold and 9 karat yellow gold. My favourite thing about this Antique 14K Yellow Gold Fanc...

Category

Late 19th Century British Victorian Antique Victorian Chain

Materials

14k Gold, Yellow Gold

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1950s French Retro Antique Victorian Chain

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TIFFANY & Co. 18K Gold Cupid Arrow Heart Pendant Beaded Chain Necklace

By Tiffany & Co.

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2010s American Antique Victorian Chain

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Modern 18 Karat Yellow Gold Snake Mesh Chain

$2,751

Modern 18 Karat Yellow Gold Snake Mesh Chain

Located in Poitiers, FR

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Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold

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Cartier Paris Diamond Gold Evening Purse

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Van Cleef & Arpels Zodiaque medal Leonis 18k Yellow Gold Pendant

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By Van Cleef & Arpels

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Category

2010s French Antique Victorian Chain

Materials

18k Gold, Yellow Gold

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Antique Victorian Chain For Sale on 1stDibs

Find the exact antique victorian chain you’re shopping for in the variety available on 1stDibs. Frequently made of Gold, Yellow Gold and 18k Gold, this item was constructed with great care. Finding the perfect antique victorian chain may mean sifting through those created during different time periods — you can find an early version that dates to the 18th Century and a newer variation that were made as recently as the 20th Century. There have been many well-made iterations of the classic antique victorian chain over the years, but those made by Glorious Antique Jewelry Collection, Damati and Tiffany & Co. are often thought to be among the most beautiful. An antique victorian chain can be a stylish choice for most occasions, but Pearl rings, from our inventory of 133, can add a particularly distinctive touch to your look, day or night. See these pages for a round cut iteration of this accessory, while there are also cabochon cut and oval cut cut versions available here, too. Finding an antique victorian chain for sale for women should be easy, but there are 613 pieces available to browse for unisex as well as men, too.

How Much is a Antique Victorian Chain?

On average, an antique victorian chain at 1stDibs sells for $1,911, while they’re typically $171 on the low end and $260,000 for the highest priced versions of this item.

A Close Look at Victorian Jewelry

The reign of Queen Victoria encapsulates a quickly evolving period of history — and jewelry styles were no exception. No single period has seen such a diverse group of jewelry attributed to it than the Victorian era. Today, there is a vast collection of authentic antique Victorian jewelry and watches on 1stDibs.

Victorian jewelry is named after Queen Victoria, whose reign lasted from 1837 to 1901, making her the second longest-ruling monarch. (She was surpassed by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015.) During this time, different styles of fashion and jewelry came and went. Thanks to our fascination with royalty and swoon-worthy melodramas like Netflix’s The Crown — which is rife with evocative fashion, jewelry and interiors — and the 2017 feature film Victoria & Abdul, we are all familiar with her story. After the death of Victoria’s father and three childless uncles, she ascended to the throne at age 18. In 1840, Queen Victoria married the love of her life, her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Queen Victoria loved serpentine jewels, and she had even more power to shape trends than Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle do today. The British monarch’s best-known piece in this mold is the gold coiled-snake engagement ring she received from Prince Albert — the sinuous reptile was considered a symbol of everlasting love.

The Queen's 63-year reign has been divided by historians into the Romantic period, the early happy years, circa 1837–60; the Grand period, marked by the deaths of the Queen’s mother and husband, circa 1860–80; and the late Victorian or Aesthetic period, which lasted from about 1880 until 1901 and ushered in the Belle Époque. Queen Victoria wore her heart on her sleeve, and her fashion and jewelry reflected her emotions.

Romantic period jewelry, which featured common decorative motifs and was embellished with seed pearls, coral and turquoise, was a celebration of the young monarch’s love. Everything changed with the death of Prince Albert, and the Grand period is most often associated with mourning jewelry. Jewelry was smaller, lighter and more dainty during the late Victorian period. During this era, diamonds came into fashion, and semiprecious gems such as amethysts and opals became prevalent, too. Using gemstones for their natural beauty and not their worth was something that jewelers of the era felt passionate about, and this ideology would really become relevant in Art Nouveau jewelry.

Find a collection of authentic antique Victorian jewelry — from rings, necklaces and brooches to a range of other accessories — on 1stDibs.

Why Gold Shines in Jewelry Craftsmanship

Gold is the feel-good metal, the serotonin of jewelry. Wear vintage and antique gold necklaces, watches, gold bracelets or gold rings and you feel happy, you feel dressed, you feel, well, yourself.

Gold, especially yellow gold, with its rich patina and ancient pedigree going back thousands of years, is the steady standby, the well-mannered metal of choice. Any discussion of this lustrous metal comes down to a basic truth: Gold is elementary, my dear. Gold jewelry that couples the mystique of the metal with superb design and craftsmanship achieves the status of an enduring classic. Many luxury houses have given us some of our most treasured and lasting examples of gold jewelry over the years.

Since its founding, in 1837, Tiffany & Co. has built its reputation on its company jewelry as well as its coterie of boutique designers, which has included Jean Schlumberger, Donald Claflin, Angela Cummings and Elsa Peretti. There are numerous gold Tiffany classics worth citing. Some are accented with gemstones, but all stand out for their design and the workmanship displayed.

For the woman who prefers a minimalist look, the Tiffany & Co. twist bangle (thin, slightly ovoid) is stylishly simple. For Cummings devotees, signature pieces feature hard stone inlay, such as her pairs of gold ear clips inlaid with black jade (a play on the classic Chanel black and tan), or bangles whose design recalls ocean waves, with undulating lines of lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. And just about any design by the great Jean Schlumberger is by definition a classic.

Even had he eschewed stones and diamonds, Southern-born David Webb would be hailed for the vast arsenal of heavy gold jewelry he designed. Gold, usually hammered or textured in some manner, defines great David Webb jewelry. The self-taught jeweler made very au courant pieces while drawing inspiration from ancient and out-of-the-way sources — East meets West in the commanding gold necklaces made by Webb in the early 1970s. The same could be said for his endlessly varied gold cuffs.

In Europe, many houses have given us gold jewelry that sets the highest standard for excellence, pieces that were highly sought after when they were made and continue to be so.

Numerous designs from Cartier are homages to gold. There are the classic Trinity rings, necklaces and bracelets — trifectas of yellow, white and rose gold. As a testament to the power of love, consider the endurance of the Cartier Love bracelet.

Aldo Cipullo, Cartier’s top in-house designer from the late 1960s into the early ’70s, made history in 1969 with the Love bracelet. Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle.

BVLGARI and its coin jewelry, gemme nummarie, hit the jackpot when the line launched in the 1960s. The line has been perennially popular. BVLGARI coin jewelry features ancient Greek and Roman coins embedded in striking gold mounts, usually hung on thick link necklaces of varying lengths. In the 1970s, BVLGARI introduced the Tubogas line, most often made in yellow gold. The Tubogas watches are classics, and then there is the Serpenti, the house's outstanding snake-themed watches and bracelets.

A collection called Monete that incorporated the gold coins is one of several iconic BVLGARI lines that debuted in the 1970s and ’80s, catering to a new generation of empowered women. Just as designers like Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were popularizing fuss-free ready-to-wear fashion for women on the go, BVLGARI offered jewels to be lived in.

Since Van Cleef & Arpels opened its Place Vendôme doors in 1906, collection after collection of jewelry classics have enchanted the public. As predominantly expressed in a honeycomb of gold, there is the Ludo watch and accessories, circa the 1920s, and the golden Zip necklace, 1951, whose ingenious transformation of the traditional zipper was originally proposed by the Duchess of Windsor. Van Cleef's Alhambra, with its Moroccan motif, was introduced in 1968 and from the start its popularity pivoted on royalty and celebrity status. It remains one of VCA’s most popular and collected styles.

Mention must be made of Buccellati, whose name is synonymous with gold so finely spun that it suggests tapestry. The house’s many gold bracelets, typically embellished with a few or many diamonds, signified taste and distinction and are always in favor on the secondary market. Other important mid-20th-century houses known for their gold-themed jewelry include Hermès and Ilias Lalaounis.

Find a stunning collection of vintage and antique gold jewelry on 1stDibs.

Questions About Antique Victorian Chain

What is a Victorian book chain?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertNovember 2, 2021
A Victorian book chain is a piece of jewelry — usually a necklace — that can be found in gold, sterling silver and other materials. Each link in the chain is a rectangle-shaped piece of folded metal that resembles a book. Shop a collection of vintage and modern Victorian book chains from some of the world’s top jewelers on 1stDibs.