Jet is a black fossilized material prized for its gem-like use in jewelry, including necklaces, brooches, pins and earrings. The term jet black, meaning as black as black can get, comes from jet. When Prince Albert died in 1861, his wife Queen Victoria famously wore jet mourning jewelry and jet was popularly used in general for Victorian era mourning jewelry.

Primarily originating from underneath Whitbey England, jet is fossilized wood, often well over one hundred thousand years old. Though not particularly attractive when it’s mined from the ground, it is easily carved and polished to a gem-like black. You can sometimes see patterns from the original tree.

Queen Victoria’s daughter, Princess Louise, a wearing jet bead necklace

Identifying Genuine Jet. Jet and black glass are sometimes mistaken for each other, but glass is cold to the touch while jet is warm. Jet is light and floats or sinks slowly in water. If you rub jet on unglazed pottery or a sidewalk is will leave a brown/black streak.