Bringing a Different Meaning to the "Crown" Jewels

A tooth necklace might seem like the type of accessory you would have found in Jeffrey Dahmer’s dresser drawers, but back in Victorian times, there was no sweeter way to commemorate your child’s first lost tooth.

In fact, Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, had their first daughter’s milk tooth made into a brooch shaped like a plant. The tooth, of course, was the bloom. It was just one piece in Victoria’s large collection of enamel jewelry made from human and animal teeth. Albert was quite the hunter, you see, and he loved to turn pieces of his conquests into accessories for his wife. Among her prized possessions were a necklace featuring 44 teeth from a stag Prince Albert shot at Balmoral Estate, a stag-tooth brooch and stag-tooth earrings mounted with gold oak leaves.

Photos from the Royal Collection