was the preferred metal for jewelry making during ancient times. It
was rare, it was easy to work with, and it never tarnished.
Magnificent bracelets, pendants, necklaces, rings, armlets, earrings,
collars, and head ornaments were all produced in ancient Egypt, the
land of the Pharaohs.
In 1922 Howard Carter's excavations led to the discovery of
Tutankhamun's tomb and many gold artifacts, all showing the art work
of ancient Egypt. Greece In ancient Greece, gold beads in the shape of
shells, flowers and beetles were very common. In Northern Greece
beautiful necklaces and earrings have been excavated from burial.
By 300 BC the Greeks were using gems such as emeralds, garnets,
amethysts and pearls. They also created colored glass stones and
enamel stones. Carved agate cameos and gold filigree work were widely
made. Italy The Italian Etruscans produced granulated textured gold
work. They made very large, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. They
were also known for producing hollow gold pendants that were filled
with perfume. Even today the Italians are still known for the quality
gold jewelry.
Rome The Romans used 18 and 24 carat gold for their coins. Coinage
gold was readily available so it was popular with craftsmen for
decorative jewelry. Over 2000 years ago the Romans were using
sapphires, emeralds, garnets, and amber in their jewelry. Europe
During the 13th century the Medieval Sumptuary Laws were enacted which
put a cap on luxurious jewelry and clothing. The town folk of France,
banned from wearing girdles made from pearls or any other gemstone.
They were also banged from wearing gold or silver. Similar laws
existed in England banning artisans from wearing gold and silver.
These laws show how fine jewelry had spread beyond nobility to the
town folk. Real and Fake Gems and Pearls For as long as mankind has
existed gems and jewels have been used as token of ones love for
another. While many pieces of jewelry existed adorned with fine gems
and made from precious metals, there was also some very good fake
jewelry. True gemstones and pearls originated in the east and they
were bought mainly by the Italians. The Italian merchants then sold
the jewelry to the Europeans. High quality glass imitations were often
used and sold with the intent to deceive.
These high quality glass stones were often used in the Royal funeral
robes and in children's jewelry. Valued more than gemstones, were the
flawless, round, natural white pearls. South India provided some of
the finest pearls. The Italians were able to make quality imitation
glass gems and pearls that could only be identified by a gemologist.
There is historical proof that recipes for false pearls existed as far
back as 1300.
White powdered glass was mixed with albumen and snail slime to produce
imitation pearls. Earrings and Dress Jewelry During the 17th century
woman always wore earrings, whether they were dressed or undressed. It
was very acceptable to wear faux pearls and paste gem earrings during
the day saving fine diamond jewelry and gem jewelry for evening
attire.
Dress ornamentation decreased in size. Sleeves or skirts were often
decorated with matching brooches. During the 16th it was very
fashionable to wear large quantities of pearls. Both jewelry to
clothing accessories were adorned with pearls.
During the 17th century Jaquin of Paris patented a method of making
fake pearls. Hollow blown glass balls were coated with varnish mixed
with iridescent ground fish scales. The hollow balls were then filled
with wax to strengthen them. This discovery made Paris the main
producer of faux pearls for well over 200 years. Paste is a compound
of glass containing white lead oxide and potash. Paste jewelry was
very common in the later part of the 17th century.
The highest quality and most long lasting paste jewelry was produced
after 1734 by Georges Strass. Paris lead the production of faux gems
[paste] and faux pearls. Just about any kind of fake gem could be
made, including fake opals. After 1760 the production of fake jewelery
spread to London and to Birmingham. During the industrial revolution
steel was produced in large quantities so it was easily available.
It was ues for setting marcasite and jasper ware cameos. Glass and
Wedgwood porcelain paste cameos were made in English factories and
were also very popular.
The fashion from this era also included ornate shoe buckles of paste,
steel and tin, elaborate paste jewel buttons, as well as semi precious
for day wear. Empire Jewelry In 1804 Napoleon emerged as Emperor of
France, resulting in a revival of jewelry and fashion as a new court
of pomp. 'Joailliers' worked fine jewelry and 'bijoutiers' used less
precious materials. The members of the new French imperial family had
the former French royal family gems re-set into the latest
neo-classical style. The new trends soon found their way to Europe,
particularly England. The main influence for design was the Greek and
Roman.
Parures and Cameos Parures were a matching suite of coordinating
precious gems which could include a necklace, a comb, a tiara, a
diadem, a bandeau, a pair of bracelets, pins, rings, drop earrings or
and cluster stud earrings and possibly a belt clasp. A full parure
consisted of a minimum of four pieces. A demi parure consisted of
three or less pieces. Both Josephine and Napoleon's second wife had
magnificent parures. Once Napoleon's cameo decorated coronation crown
was seen, cameos became the rage. Cameos were carved from hard stone,
conch shells and even from Wedgwood porcelain.
Victorian Jewelry In 1837 when Queen Victoria came to the throne
jewelry was romantic and nationalistic. It focused on European folk
art, which later influenced the Arts and Crafts Movement. Until mid
century most western jewelry came from Europe, with some jewelry being
produced in North America and Australia.
Mass production of mid Victorian jewelry in Birmingham, Germany and
Providence, Rhode Island resulted in lower jewelry standards.
Victorian women rebelled when they saw some the poor quality of much
of this machine made jewelry. Woman rebelled by wearing no jewelry at
all, or buying from the emerging artist craftsman. Some jewelers like
Tiffany recognized a niche market and began to make fine jewelry of a
very high standard, opening shops in main European cities.
Mourning Jewelry During the Victorian era mourning jewelry was very
fashionable. The initial months of mourning were unadorned by jewelry
of any kind. As the mourning rituals increased, mourning jewelry
developed as a fashion item.
Queen Victorian wore a great deal of jet mourning jewelry after Prince
Albert's death. Jet from Whitby, North of England was set into
mourning pieces. All types of material that were black were used and
almost all included a lock of the dead loved one's hair. Hair was also
plaited, braided or twisted very tightly until it became hard and
thread like.
Arts and Crafts Jewelry During the 1870s the Arts and Crafts movement
evolved as a reaction to mass produced shoddy goods and inferior
machine made products which were 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 followed the arts and crafts movement
resulting in a new jewelry look. The movement began in Paris and its
influence went throughout the Western world. Art nouveau jewelry had
curves, sinuous organic lines of romantic and imaginary dreaminess.
It was very ethereal turning into winged bird and flower forms.
French, René Lalique was the master goldsmith of the era of Art
Nouveau producing exquisite one off pieces. Today, the Art Nouveau
style is still admired, sought after, and copied.
Pearls Various combinations of pearl necklaces come in and out of
fashion with regularity so pearls too are a must. Today pearls are
still a wardrobe essential. Both faux pearls and cultured pearls are
very affordable today. Since the opening of trade with China in the
1990s, many pearls are imported from China dropping the price to about
1/3 of what it was prior to China entering the market.
The Japanese have suffered disease in their pearl beds as well as
facing competition and are finding it hard to compete with China's
prices. Pearl necklaces and pearl earrings can lift a complexion and
bring light and radiance to the face taking years off a woman whatever
her age. They have been a wardrobe staple for centuries, and a wedding
attire tradition.
Cultured pearls have become very affordable, and faux pearls are very
cheap and the quality can be excellent. Currently Pearls are a very
"hot" fashion statement and with the modern twist of being interspaced
on gold wire or floating on special synthetic cord they are essential
to the millennium look. Cocktail Jewelry During the 1920s Lalique mass
produced and designed high quality glass jewelry. Fake, or costume
jewellery was sometimes then called cocktail jewelry. Costume or
Cocktail jewelry was greatly influenced by designers such as Coco
Chanel, and Elsa Shiparelli as well as a host of other designers.
These two designers were particularly known for encouraging clients to
mix their fine jewelry and costume jewelry. Both designers offered
imagination and fun and both often sported fabulous fakes. In the late
1930s Napier of the USA was at the forefront of manufacturing fake
cocktail jewelry offer glamour and escapism. Today, Napier still
produces excellent contemporary costume pieces.
Hollywood Influence By the 1940s and 1950s American culture was very
dominant in Europe. The influence of movie films and the prominence of
film stars set the fashion stage for womens make-up, hair and
wardrobe. People wanted copies of outfits and jewelry worn by the
actresses. Women believed that the glamour of Hollywood would rub off
on them if they dressed and looked like the glamorous Hollywood
actresses.
During the Second World War metals were rationed, halting the
production of fine jewelry. Quality costume jewelry picked up the now
defunct fine jewelry market. Costume jewelry flourished becoming an
acceptable alternative to fine jewelry.
1980's Television Influences Jewelry During the 1980s with the
evolution of glitzy television soaps such as Dynasty and Dallas,
costume jewelry once again became a "hot" fashion statement. With over
250 million viewers, it didn't take long for costume jewelry to be
reborn. 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. By the 1990s this sparkly dazzling jewelry phenomena was
dead, replace with tiny real diamond studs or a fine stud pearls. 21st
Century Jewelry For the 21st century women believe a mix is good. Fine
jewelry combined with costume jewelry are wardrobe essentials. The
sophisticated women of this century know what they want from their
jewelry and how to wear it to make their fashion statement.
They recognize that costume jewelry can liven up their wardrobe. The
types and quality of costume jewelry has grown enormously. Today one
can purchase what is classified as fine costume jewelry which is
usually plated at least seven times with 10 22 ct gold. Swarovski
crystal set in gold are common accessories, and cubic zirconium, man's
imitation diamond, can be purchased for a fraction of the cost of real
diamonds allowing every women to add diamond styled jewelry to their
wardrobe.
Ciro, Adrian Buckley, Butler and Wilson, Swarovski Crystal Jewelry
Napier, Joan Rivers, Joan Collins, Christian Dior, California Crystal,
Property of A Lady and of course Kenneth J Lane to name just a few
continue to produce high quality fashion jewelry for today's women.
Costume jewelry can take you from the board room to a night out of
dining and dancing to your most intimate evening. It can make you look
your best for your wedding, or a day at the beach. You can make Your
Fashion Statement! With costume jewelry.
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