There are two schools of thought regarding the symbolism behind the use of the star and crescent design in Late Victorian and Edwardian jewellery.
The one school suggests that the star and crescent design is regarded as honeymoon jewellery. A piece given by the groom to his new bride on their honeymoon.
The second is that before the first world war, The Ottoman Empire was an exotic place to visit and the star and crescent was the symbol of that Empire that stretched from Egypt to Europe and a souvenir of trips to the exotic East.
I subscribe to the second school. The mysterious East, the finding of the Valley of the Kings and the resurgence of interest in Mediterranean Archaeology all makes sense. The sudden disappearance of the Motif after Word War I also ties in historically because Turkey was an ally of Germany and one the Central Powers. The end of Word War I heralded the end of Romanticism and ushered in a whole new way that people viewed the world and expressed themselves in all art forms. The use of the star and crescent would have been discarded because it would have been a reminder of the carnage in the Middle Eastern Campaigns (1914-1918). An interesting aside to both schools of thought is that many of the well-to-do persons would have taken their honeymoons in the Exotic East thus giving credibility to both schools of thought.
Which school of thought do you believe?
-Ronnie Bauer