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Chains remained popular in Europe during the nineteenth century. In 1823, the great French painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres painted this portrait of Madame Jacques-Louis Leblanc:
 Madame Leblanc was part of Napoleon's court, where she served as lady-in-waiting to his sister, the grand duchess of Tuscany. The portrait shows her wearing a long golden chain necklace. A watch is suspended from it and attached to her belt
In medieval times, a châtelaine was the mistress of the castle, the woman who held all the keys. This French word also became the term used to describe what was in the 18th century "the most predominant type of jewelry worn during the daytime". It consisted of three main parts: an ornamental hook-plate that was attached to the belt, a number of chains affixed to the plate, and objects attached to the dangling ends of the each chain. Almost anything essential might be found attached to these short chains, including: scissors, keys, thimble and needle cases, pomanders, household notebooks in metal cases, tape measures, compasses, and pen knives.
Sometimes a cameo or charm was also suspended from the chains, which could number as many as nine. As they were extremely practical items, châtelaines were worn by both men and women, though the men’s version was longer and tended to be worn suspended from the thigh. The châtelaine was the equivalent of the Swiss Army Knife, long before the Swiss Army Knife came into vogue.
The popularity of the châtelaine faded in the 1830s, but their descendents—charm bracelets—are still with us. Initially popular in England, during the Victorian age, charm bracelets allowed women to collect charms—often mementos or souvenirs-- and attach them to sterling silver or gold chain bracelets. The bracelets become far more elaborate in the twentieth century with fancy woven chains and heavy jeweled and enameled charms. Watches, of course, were often suspended from chains, at least until 1896 when the term wristwatch was coined. The Victorian festoon necklace, which came into vogue in the late 1800s, featured graceful swags of chain, looping from a central pendant and connecting to other gems or the "main" chain. Dainty wrist chains were also worn during the Victorian era to tighten sleeve ruffles. |
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