A jewel is a personal thing.  Dictionaries define a jewel as a precious stone, or alternatively, anything of value to somebody. So what is a jewel to one is not to another. The history of jewellery can then be confused by the use of leather, braided threads and other adornments, some for decoration, some for protection or good luck, so for this short history precious metals and stones only will be considered.

Gold has been used for jewellery for millennia because of its soft glowing colour and also its malleability. It could be formed into rings, amulets, anklets and necklets. It could be used as a setting for colourful stones, many of which in ancient days were today’s precious stones.  Egyptian gold and silver jewellery from over 5000 years ago is the first known jewellery as we know it today.  It was very similar to articles fashioned by the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans which were also made of gold.

Grecian jewellery involved filigree of finely crafted gold and was a symbol of status.  The wealthier you were, the more jewellery you would have. The same is true of ancient Rome, where adornments of gold, silver and precious stones were reserved for the wealthy and the nobility.  So not much different to now then!

During the Dark Ages to the 14th century, very few people wore jewellery. Although the rich could afford it, the morality of the day frowned on it, other than a religious cross which was acceptable. Even rings were inscribed with religious symbols, and jewels were worn on belts.  The more expensive the metal of a ring, the higher the class of the wearer.

It was during the Tudor and Elizabethan periods that jewellery as we know it began to appear.  This was also the period of the Renaissance, where art of any kind was in the ascendancy, and the art of jewellery was no different. Elizabeth wore dresses encrusted with jewels of many kinds, and earrings were also popular during this period.  It was also during the 15th and 16th centuries that gemstone faceting became possible, and the glitter truly began.

However, it was not until the 17th century that glittering stones were truly appreciated.  This was the beginning of bling and the jewellery store, and you could buy a wide variety of stones such as emeralds, rubies, diamonds and sapphires that were cut and faceted in an amazing variety of designs.  The baroque period, as it was known, was responsible for a marvelous array of precious stones set in gold and silver, and also in copper and any other malleable metal that could be worked.

This experimentation with classical style continued throughout the next two centuries, and then came something different.  The beginning of the 20th century introduced the Art Nouveau style, typified by curved enameled jewellery in the shape of dragonflies and bats, and was not well received by many jewellers.  The Roaring Twenties saw a massive change in fashion and in the independence of women.  The Paris Exposition of 1925 was named the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratife et Industriels Modernes”, and a new decorative art form was introduced there in reaction to the Art Nouveau style. Can you spot what it was named from the name of the Expo?

It involved intense colours, geometric designs and sharp angles in defiance to the soft curves of art nouveau. It raised a storm and was given the name Art Deco after the name of the exposition (did you get it?). Different stones would be set in one piece, with complementary colours setting each other off in angular settings.

Today’s jewellery fashion is described by many as bland and by others as vibrant.  There is no specific trend and basically anything goes.  You buy jewellery in any design today, and in some ways this is good, but in others it is sad that the last half of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty first centuries have no style of their own, only a mass of independent designers doing their own thing but nobody coming up with something different.

It could be called the age of bling, but that started in the Stuart age, possibly to make them forget the smallpox epidemics and lack of personal hygiene which made the 17th century otherwise grim times.

Perhaps ‘different’ is no longer possible, because it has all been done.

A Guide to Buying Jewellery.

A guide to buying jewellery can be as long as you want it, and this guide is intended to ensure that you understand what you buy since there are many misconceptions of jewellery terms.  There are many cheap retail stores that supply gold items at discount prices online and offline, so don’t let yourself be misled.  So let’s start with gold:

BUYING GOLD JEWELLERY

1.  All gold jewellery should be hallmarked.  If it weighs over 1 gram and is not hallmarked do not buy it, since it is either not gold or is being sold illegally. Every gold item offered for sale must have a hallmark, unless they weigh less that 1 gram, then they need not be hallmarked.