Description Whitby Jet with hand painted porcelain plaque, Victorian era brooch. There are chips to outer rim of brooch and a little wear to porcelain plaque. Brooch measures approximately 4.5cm x 4cm. Whitby jet was mined on the coast of England from 1840, with the last jet mine closing in 1920. The mines were worked by small groups of men by hand using a pick driven into a hillside. Soft shale was barrowed out into the hillside where any jet was separated. Once the face of the drift became too hard to dig the roof of the mine was collapsed, working up through the band of rock until the top jet layer was reached. The collapsed shale would be used to raise the floor of the mine and make a platform for working. This work was done by candlelight with no ventilation. Large spoil heaps can still be seen along the Northern escarpment of the Cleveland Hills and throughout the North Yorkshire Moors. Whitby jet has a hardness that makes it an easy material to carve or cut. By 1850 there were around fifty ornament and jewellery manufacturers. In 1851 at the Great Exhibition in london, one of the most talented jet carvers Isaac Greenery exhibited his work and secured orders from visitors. Whitby Jet attracted international attention, raising the profile of the industry. When Prince Albert died in 1861 Queen Victoria wore jet as part of her mourning dress for several years, which added to its popularity. At its peak around 1,500 people worked in the jet industry, supported by 200 miners. Later simulants such as pressed horn, vulcanite, bog oak, black glass, coal & lower quality imported materials were used which affected the jet industry. When fashions changed to all things glitzy & glittery in the 1920’s Art Deco years, jet jewellery was consigned to the back of the jewellery drawer.
