Do you remember the feeling of the first time you liked someone, and they liked you back?

It's that rush of butterflies, secrets, longing, love... and scandal!

OK.... your first love experience was probably completely innocent, but in late 18th-century British culture, The Lover's Eye jewelry trend was entangled with scandal and gossip among society's elite.

Picture this...

It's 1785 in England. Cameras don't exist, and people are desperate to feel close to their loves when they are away.

Your name is Maria-Anne Fitzherbert, and you're quite a hottie for your day.

Twice widowed but "living your best life" thanks to a mansion and a generous inheritance from your second husband.

You're thriving in high society.

Suddenly, your butler knocks on the salon door with a package for you.

Excitedly, you take the small, mysterious parcel and open it in private.

The wrapping is a gorgeous peach-colored fabric tied with a silky white bow.

This is no ordinary delivery.

You start with the letter. It reads:

Dear Maria,

I'm madly in love with you and can't stop thinking about you. Please marry me.

I'm so obsessed that I bought you this...

Do you "SEE" the resemblance? 😉

Love,

Prince George of Wales

P.S. Isn't it wild that I will be the future King of England?

You're stunned... GEORGE, What have you done?

With shaking hands, you tear open the package and see an ornate, enameled box small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

You can tell something amazing is inside. This is gonna be good...

You slowly lift the brass-hinged lid, and there it is—Prince George's eye, staring back at you.

Not a real eye, of course, but a miniature portrait of his eye. It's painted in such fine detail that it looks lifelike.

The bizarre piece is part jewelry, part miniature portrait, set in gold and surrounded by pearls, which symbolize perfection.

These Lover's Eye pieces, often painted in watercolor on ivory, were incredibly delicate. If they got wet, the image would vanish, which is why only about 1,000 of these artworks survive today.

Maria is mesmerized by George's romantic gift and marries him in a secret wedding that year.

In return, she commissions a portrait of her own eye for him to wear, hidden in a locket under his lapel.

Rudely, shortly after the secret wedding, Prince George's dad, the King, ruins your party and annuls the marriage.

Why?

Because you're Catholic, and George is Protestant, making your union illegal without the King's permission.

Plus, it would cause George to forfeit his claim to the throne.

On top of that, George's crippling debts required a financially beneficial marriage to rescue him from his bad decisions.

George eventually remarries, and that, too, ends poorly.

Despite your marriage, you're only given the title of his mistress, which you are not happy about.

Although George and Maria weren't the first couple to inspire the Lover's Eye jewelry trend (which began in 1785 and faded around 1830 with the invention of photography), their romance went viral, driving demand for this unique jewelry.

This trend epitomizes jewelry's power to capture sentimentality, one of the main reasons people buy it.

What makes it unique is its ability to tell a story of love and longing through personalization and capturing a lover's gaze while also being used for mourning as a remembrance piece of those who have passed.

Can this trend make a comeback today? In next week's issue, I'll explore how to modernize this idea and show you how to use AI to generate jewelry design concepts quickly.

What do you think about incorporating this idea into your work?

Hit reply and let me know.

Stay inspired,

Jenessa