This material was worked into articles of personal adornment as  long ago as the Bronze Age, but although its use is of such antiquity, its popularity has gradually declined. A wave of fashion about the year 1870 revived the demand for jet, but for many years now it has been seldom worn or used. As recently as 1948, black costume diamond jewelry was worn, and there was a slight demand for jet again. But lack of material, skilled labor, and the knowledge that this was merely a fleeting fashion did little to encourage lush production. Old jewelry of the Victorian age was brought  out  from receptacles where it had been hidden for years, unwanted and discarded, and the bracelets and necklaces which found their way on the market were enough to satisfy the demand.
For black stones and materials are not very popular. The present age has largely dispensed with mourning jewelry, although the black color of jet, combined with its light weight, made it very suitable for this purpose. Where a black stone in jewelry is required, onyx is more generally used, for this is much harder than jet, and it also takes a higher polish. Black imitations in glass and other artificial materials are easily and cheaply made, and these take their place in the cheapest forms of jewelry.
Jet is of little interest and value, and it is owing to its comparative softness that its use in ornament dates back so far. The excavation of numerous barrows in Dorset, England, and elsewhere has revealed a number of very early jet rings, anklets, bracelets, and necklaces, and these no doubt originated from deposits near Whitby in Yorkshire.