History of jewelry
From the first beads to contemporary jewelry: periods, styles and heirlooms.
12 entries
Jewelry
Brooch or pin
What a brooch is: a jewel fastened to clothing. Illustrated types (safety pin, fibula, bar, clip), materials, history and care.
Design
Contemporary Jewelry
Contemporary or art jewelry puts the idea ahead of the value of the material. Traits, materials, schools and artists, with an illustration and common questions.
Jewelry
Crowns: history, types and materials
The crown is the jewel of power: from ancient laurel wreaths to the gold and gem crowns of monarchies; types, materials and symbolism.
Materials
History of gold
History of gold in jewelry and the economy: Varna, Egypt, Lydia, the conquest of the Americas, the gold rush and today. Timeline and questions.
Jewelry
History of jewelry
The history of jewelry goes back thousands of years and has played a significant role in many cultures around the world.
Buying guides
Inherited jewelry: how to identify, keep and transform it
What to do with an inherited jewel: how to recognize its period and metal, how to keep it, when to restore it and how to transform it without losing its story.
Jewelry around the world
Jewelry and amulets of ancient Egypt
Scarabs, the ankh and the Eye of Horus: ancient Egyptian jewelry was amulets of protection and life, made of gold, lapis lazuli, turquoise and carnelian.
Jewelry
Jewelry styles and periods: from Georgian to Art Deco
A tour of jewelry styles: Georgian, Victorian, Art Nouveau, Edwardian, Art Deco, Retro and modern, with their materials and traits.
Jewelry around the world
Pre-Columbian gold of Colombia
The Muisca, Quimbaya and Tairona worked gold in Colombia with lost-wax casting: tunjos, poporos and offerings of sacred value.
Jewelry
Signet rings: history, engraving and how to wear them
A signet ring carries an engraved crest, initials or emblem, and was used to seal documents in wax; history, types of engraving, materials and how to wear one.
Jewelry
Tiaras: what they are, styles and how to choose one
A tiara is a semicircular headpiece worn at the front of the hair; history, styles (halo, kokoshnik, floral), materials and how to choose one for a wedding.
Techniques
Victorian hair jewelry (hairwork)
In Victorian times hair of loved ones was woven into brooches, bracelets and lockets as jewels of affection and mourning; technique and meaning.