Have you ever wondered how we started to wear jewelry? |
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At the Beginning
From the paleolithic period to the present days, our living quarters changed. Our fashion changed. Our style changed. Our habit changed. Even our appearance changed. Many things have changed throughout the history of mankind. One thing remained constant. We like to adorn ourselves with decorative items -- rich or poor, dead or alive.
 Before metals such as gold and precious stones were discovered, mankind created jewelry using more readily available materials to decorate themselves. Items included seashells, animal teeth and bones, berries, nuts, which were made into beads.
These items were be worn as talismans for successful hunting. They were also worn as a personal decoration. |
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Learn from the Jewelry
From studying the progression of jewelry from one culture, we can learn about that culture's development. It gives us a glimpse of a timeline on how the culture advanced throught out the ages.
A large pendant with carvings, for example, may include architecture, landscape, style of clothing from that time period. Some may have religious significance. The craftsmanship of a piece also indicates the technology available at the time.
Just like art, it may even tell a story. |
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Jewelry Not Just For Women
From the beginning of time, wearing jewelry was not just for women. Men wore just as much as women, and in some cultures much more. Men wore their jewelry bolder and longer but less decorative. Women wore more but it was shorter and more decorative.
The Egyptians, both men and women were known to wear very decorative head pieces made out of gold and other precious gemstones.
 The kings and queens of the European countries wear crowns made out of precious gem stones such as ruby, emerald, diamond and pearls set in gold.
 The Chinese emperors did not wear crowns. They wore hats. The styles of hat changed from dynasty to dynasty. The material used to decorate the hat did not. The most common were adorned with very large pearls, rubys, or jade.
 The Chinese empresses and the upper class Chinese women wore hair pins made out of gold, jade, pearl, and other precious materials.
The most common piece of jewelry the Chinese men wore was a large round jade pendant hung from their waist belt on a silk cord. Many times this piece of jade was given to his maiden as an engagement promise. The woman gave the man a piece of a hair pin or comb in return. |
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As Technology Advances
With the improvement of technology, more of nature's hidden treasures are being discovered and mined. As the technology on cutting and polishing the raw stones advances, the ability to achieve the greatest potential that the gemstone or precious metal can offer increases.
The best example of this can be seen in gold. Gold is a very soft metal. It loses its shape easily. By adding other metals such as copper, silver, nickel, or zinc, gold becomes stronger and holds its shape longer.
The most common natural color range for pearl is cream color. The rarest color is black. Today, we can find pearl in a full arrray of colors due to advanced dying techniques.
With the assistance of equuipment we have today, mining for gems is easier. Larger quantities can be brought out from the earth. This has allowed the price of some of the precious stones to be more affordable than in the past. With that said, precious stones of high quality still demands a premium price. |
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Synthetic (lab produced)Stones
The most well known sythnetic stone is cubic zirconia (zircon) - the man-made diamond.
 The first time I saw a zircon was when my grandfather brought them home and showed them to us. These colorless stones looked just like diamonds. They were at least two to three carats in weight. They were shining brightly. We all thought he paid a hefty price for them.
Not so, he said, these are imitations. To an untrained eye, they are almost undetectable from real diamonds.
There are more and more synthetic stones being manufactured today. They include opal, ruby, emerald, and quartz such as amethyst and citrine. |
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Jewelry Today
 We have many options these days when we go out looking for that one piece of jewelry to go with the outfit we just bought.
There are an array of designs and material to choose from. There are those created with high quality gems for those few special occassions. Then there are fun designs that use precious gemstones at an affordable price.
Why not get a few piece pieces to accent your wardrobe? |
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