History Of Jewelry And Antique Jewelry

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The purpose behind the wearing of jewelry has changed through the centuries. Jewels have been fashioned for superstitious reasons, to honor the gods, to display wealth and status, to symbolize Christian faith, and to simply accentuate a person's natural beauty through adornment.

The price of antique jewelry depends on the quality of the piece as well as its rarity. Jewelry before the Georgian period is extremely rare, hard to find, and very expensive. Examples of antique Georgian jewelry include the popular chandelier earrings and multi-stranded necklaces made of precious gemstones. Antique dealers are trained to identify the category of antique jewelry by examining its type, style, and material. Art Nouveau jewelry is easy to identify due to its natural botanical designs. Hat pins, brooches, and lockets were popular during the late Victorian era while Arts and crafts jewelry is a sharp contrast to the elaborate gemstones of the Edwardian era: necklaces and bracelets were modest, often made of uncut stones. The Edwardian era featured the dawn of costume jewelry: collar necklaces, bangle bracelets, and bar brooches were all worn in excess.

In today's marketplace, something is considered an antique if it as least 75 years old. (This is the more modern definition. Previously, antique dealers considered something an antique if it was over 100 years old. Some still do.) Antique jewelry is categorized by eras and styles: Georgian (1714-1837), Victorian (1837-1900), Arts and crafts (1894-1923), Art nouveau (1894-1915), and Edwardian (1901-1915.)

Humans have always worn jewelry. Before man learned to write, or even speak, he decorated himself with pendants, necklaces, earrings, and headdresses. Fossils from primitive people living 75,000 years ago show that humans formed bracelets and necklaces from materials like the shiny shell of a snail or bones strung together from animals. They formed beads from mollusks and strung the beads to create beautiful necklaces. Throughout history, people formed jewelry from whatever natural material captured their fancy, including wood, hair, metals, teeth, and gemstones. Jewelry was used to display power, status, for medicinal purposes, to ward off evil, and as a part of religious rituals. In 3,500 B.C., man began to use fire to alloy metal; soon, people used bronze to create beautiful pieces breastplates, diadems and head pieces.

The ancient Greeks incorporated gemstones like garnets, emeralds, pearls, and sapphires. Archaeologists have unearthed intricate cameos, gold beads, and elaborate headdresses adorned by the Greeks. The Greeks and Romans traded with other countries, and therefore the jewelry that comes from these eras is diverse, a product of different cultures.

Dealers are trained to tell the difference between a truly antique piece of jewelry and one that has been fashioned to look antique. For instance, most all antique earrings are screw-ons or clip-ons. Pierced earrings did not become fashionable again until the 1950s- 1970s! Antique jewels won't be made of plastic and their gemstones will be fastened by prongs, not glue.

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Jewelry began to be manufactured by the early Egyptians. Jewelry making became an art-form; jewelers were craftsmen who employed various methods to create sophisticated adornments. They were primarily concerned with bright colors, so they incorporated an array of gemstones and metals to adorn their patrons.