What Is Berlin Iron Jewellery?
How the Royal Prussian Iron Foundry cast delicate black iron jewellery in the early 19th century, the 1813 'Gold gab ich für Eisen' campaign, Neoclassical and Gothic designs, and how to recognise Berlin iron today.
Berlin iron jewellery is delicate openwork jewellery cast in iron and finished in matt black lacquer, made mainly in Prussia between about 1806 and 1850. It is remarkable on two counts: the extraordinary fineness of its casting, and its role as a patriotic symbol during the wars against Napoleon, when Prussians exchanged their gold jewellery for iron.
The Royal Prussian Iron Foundries
The Royal Prussian Iron Foundry was established at Gleiwitz in Silesia in the 1790s, and a second foundry opened in Berlin in 1804. Both produced decorative castings - medallions, plaques and statuettes - as well as industrial work. The foundries perfected a technique of sand-casting very fine iron, which could reproduce lacy, filigree-like detail. After casting, pieces were coated with a black lacquer, traditionally made with linseed oil, to protect the iron from rust and give it an even dark finish. See What Is Casting?.
“Gold gab ich für Eisen”
In 1813, as Prussia prepared to rise against Napoleon, Princess Marianne of Prussia appealed to women to give their gold jewellery to fund the war. Donors received iron jewellery in exchange, often a ring or brooch inscribed “Gold gab ich für Eisen” (“I gave gold for iron”) or “Eingetauscht zum Wohl des Vaterlandes” (“Exchanged for the good of the Fatherland”). Wearing iron became a visible sign of patriotism and sacrifice, and iron jewellery remained fashionable in Prussia for decades after the war.
Designs
- Neoclassical: medallions with classical heads in relief, often imitating cameos, linked by fine chains; wreaths and palmettes.
- Gothic revival: from the 1820s and 1830s, pointed arches, tracery and rosettes inspired by medieval architecture. The architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed decorative work for the Berlin foundry, and Gothic tracery became a hallmark of the style.
- Naturalistic: vines, leaves and flowers in fine openwork.
Berlin iron was made as necklaces, bracelets, brooches, earrings, combs and full parures, and pieces were sometimes mounted in gold or combined with polished steel. Private workshops also produced iron jewellery; makers such as Johann Conrad Geiss and Siméon Pierre Devaranne sometimes marked their work.
Fashion Beyond Prussia
Iron jewellery was also made in France, Austria and elsewhere, and was bought by visitors to Berlin. Its sober black colour suited half-mourning, and it can be found alongside cut steel and jet in early 19th-century collections. By the 1850s the fashion had faded.
How to Recognise Berlin Iron Jewellery
- Colour and finish: matt or slightly satin black lacquer; worn areas may show grey metal or small spots of rust.
- Weight: surprisingly light for its size, because the castings are so thin.
- Detail: fine, lace-like openwork with crisp detail. Cameo-like medallions are often set in polished steel frames.
- Magnet: iron is attracted to a magnet, which immediately separates Berlin iron from jet, vulcanite, French jet (glass) and bog oak; see What Is Jet Jewellery?.
- Construction: links often joined with small iron or steel jump rings; clasps in gilt metal or steel.
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