When we talk about jewelry, we think of beautiful pieces with diamonds, gemstones or any other precious stones. But jewelry also refers to small decorations for personal uses: for example: necklaces, earrings, ring, etc and they are not always created with fine stones.
Jewelry has many uses. It can be attached to the body, hair and cloths. It represents a timeless ornament. Fine jewelry is the one that is created using fine metals such as silver, gold and platinum. Furthermore when we say jewel, other materials can be used such as: shells, and other plant materials. The oldest known ornaments was made from Nassaurius shells, and it is one of the oldest types of archeological jewel found which is more than 100 years old. History shows that the most variety of jewel designs come from Asia.
Jewelry has been created to decorate most of the body such as earrings for the ears, rings for the fingers. Jewel uses differs from sex, ages and culture. Moreover, adult women are the ones that have been using jewelry more consistently.
The word jewelry derived from the word jewel that comes from the old French “joule” and from the Latin word “jocale” that means plaything. A curious thing is that in other countries like: UK, South Africa, New Zeeland, etc. it is spelled “jewellery”
Jewelry can be used for different reasons like:
Decorate cloths and body,
Show a Social Status
Love Commitment (engagement rings and wedding bands)
As a form of religious, ethnic or group affiliation.
Others
Materials varied depending on the type of jewel. To create fine jewel with diamonds, gemstones, metals like gold and platinum are used. While to create ethnic ornaments, materials such as plants, shells, beads, etc. are used
In the ancient times, the Romans used fine metals such as: gold, platinum, palladium, titanium. While in the modern times, the most common metals are silver, gold and platinum.
Regardless of what kind of jewelrywe are interested in, it is still the most important thing. It dated form the ancient times and has been used to beautify our bodies or cloths. In other words, It is a piece of art that adds beauty to us and can define our social status.
