When we hear the word jewelry we automatically envision diamonds
and gems set in precious metals such as gold. But there are many
kinds of jewelry ranging from fine jewelry to costume jewelry.
The history of jewelry is rich and long dating back to 3000 BC
in Egypt.
3500 Years Ago
Archaeologists have found beautiful pieces of jewelry and in
1922 Howard Carter's excavation found many gold jewelry artifacts
in the tomb of Tutankhamen. Gold was the preferred metal for
jewelry because it was easy to work with and never tarnished.
Its rareness made it that much more sought after by the Kings
and Queens of Egypt, as well as the wealthy. The bracelets,
pendants, necklaces, earrings, and amulets that have been found
are quite literally works of art that take your breath away!
3000 Years Ago
Excavations have shown that the Romans were using gems in their
jewelry as far back as 3000 years ago. The Romans would use
coin gold, which was 18 to 24 carat, to make their jewelry which
was then set with sapphires, emeralds, and amber as well as
other beautiful gems.
2300 Years
Excavations have found jewelry dating as far back as 300 BC.
Greeks used gems such as emeralds, amethysts, and garnets, and
created common pieces shaped like beetles, flowers, and shells.
The Greeks also created colored glass stones used by Kings and
Queens to adorn themselves for daily wear.
12th Century
Archaeologists have found beautiful lavish gold necklaces, bracelets
and earrings. The Italians were well known for producing granulated
textured gold work as well has hollow gold pendants. Today Italy
still produces high quality gold jewelry.
13th Century
Fine gold jewelry predates the 13th Century in England. But
during the 13th century the laws were enacted that banned the
wearing of gold jewelry. Clothing set with jewels was completely
banned. The introduction of glass stones or paste stones set
in low quality metals replaced the use of quality gems set in
gold. In today's world we would refer to this as costume jewelry.
Medieval Times
Materials for jewelry were very expensive but for the wealthy
it was almost a game of who could have the most. The larger
the stone the more it was sought after. Up until the end of
the 13th century the sapphire was the most expensive and most
sought after stone, but by the middle ages the diamond had become
the most valuable and most sought after. Kings, Queens, Royalty,
Noblemen, and rich merchants all sought to own precious stones
and many preferred these gems set into jewelry.
18th Century
For the makers of jewelry the 18th century brought great changes.
During the turn of the century Peruzzi invented the 56 faceted
brilliant cut stone which is still used today. This cut quickly
replaced the 16 faceted Mazarin cut that had been used for centuries.
It also made diamonds the most sought after gem. By the 1750s
the demand had begun to exceed the supply. With that shortage
came the introduction of paste, rock, and crystal. The quality
and cut of these stones was so good that Royalty would wear
them.
Victorian Times
From the early 1800s until Queen Victoria came to the thrown
the jewelry was romantic and focused on European folk art and
nationalistic styles. Towards the mid 1800s mass produced jewelry
was flooding the market, but Victorian women rebelled because
of the poor quality of this machined jewelry choosing to buy
from local artisans instead. Some of the jewelers such as Tiffany
recognized the niche in the market and began to produce high
quality jewelry.
Arts and Crafts
By the 1870s the arts and crafts movement was in full swing
producing shoddy goods and poor quality machine made products
a result of the industrial revolution. William Morris and John
Ruskin were both leaders of the arts and crafts movement in
England. They promoted simple Arts and Crafts of designs based
on floral, primitive or Celtic forms worked as wallpapers, furniture
and jewelry. The polished stones used in Arts and Crafts jewelry
gave a medieval, simpler, gentler, tooled hand made look and
feel to items.
Art Nouveau
The art nouveau movement followed the arts and crafts era producing
a new look for jewelry. The movement began in Paris but its
influences quickly reached the west. Art nouveau jewelry had
sensual curves and romantic lines that invoked dreamy imagery.
Winged birds, and flower forms were very popular.
The Roaring 20's
The roaring 20's were full of changes. This was a prosperous
time with women becoming more assertive and demanding more from
their fashion and jewelry resulting in a change in fashion such
as the flapper dress and a new revived jewelry often referred
to as cocktail jewelry. Jewelry manufacturers such as Lalique,
Coco Chanel, and Elsa Shiparelli were quick to design and market
high quality glass jewelry that were fun, sporty, and certain
to make a woman's fashion statement!
The 1940s and 1950s
This was a time that was greatly influenced by Hollywood. The
influence of movie films and the prominence of film stars set
the fashion stage for women's make-up, hair, wardrobe, and jewelry.
Women wanted to look like the glamour girls on the screen and
demanded availability of the outfits and jewelry worn. And of
course the jewelry manufactures where quick to comply producing
both high quality and lower end glamorous jewelry.
The 1960's
The 1960s was an anything goes period with little restriction
in fashion or jewelry. Yellow gold, silver, and platinum were
all popular choices for setting jewelry. Stones ranged from
natural gemstones, to crystals, to paste. Cabochon gemstones
were very popular as were organic abstract shapes. In no other
period have women had as much freedom and flexibility when choosing
their jewelry.
The 1970's
The 1970s saw more women purchasing their own jewelry rather
than waiting to receive jewelry as a gift. Women as consumers
demanded affordable quality and a full range of styles. The
industry was quick to comply. Both precious and non precious
metals and gems were popular during 70s as long as the quality
was good.
The 1980s
The 1980s saw disco, glitz, and glamour all around. Costume
jewelry was once again "very hot". Glitz and sparkle by day
was not only acceptable, it became the norm. Earrings grew to
an unbelievable size, as did other pieces of jewelry.
The 1990s
By the 1990s this sparkly dazzling jewelry phenomena was dead,
replace with tiny real diamond studs or a fine stud pearls.
Jewelry designs were large and chunky, elegant and sophisticated,
or stark and minimalist. Silver became very popular. Toe rings
and body jewelry hit the market and became instantly popular.
Pierced ears with four or five earrings started a whole new
fashion craze.
Y2K
As would be expected, with a new millennium comes new designed.
Colored diamonds, colored pearls, a mix of old style with new
style. Rubbers and plastics have evolved to be an acceptable
form of jewelry. Metals such as stainless and platinum are commonly
used giving jewelry a very modernistic appearance.
Jewelry has a rich and interesting history and
its influences are deeply ingrained in the culture and tradition
of the time. With technology and or high tech modern world one
can only imagine what the jewelry of the future holds.
