Jewellery.

Jewellery refers to the ornaments people wear. The most common types are bracelets, brooches, earrings, neckleces, and rings. Jewellery has been chiefly used for personal decoration. But it has also been worn for reli­gious or magical purposes, or as a symbol of wealth or status. Most fine jewellery consists of precious metals and gems created in artistic designs. Gold is the chief metal used, but silver and platinum are also widely used.

The history of jewellery is a long one, with many different uses among different cultures. It has endured for thousands of years and has provided various insights into how ancient cultures worked.

Early jewellery. Prehistoric jewellery consisted largely of crude necklaces and bracelets. They were made of leather or reeds strung wilh pebbles, berries, feathers, shells, or animal bones. People wore jewellery as part of reli­gious ceremonies or to show rank. They believed cer­tain jewellery could protect them from sickness and bad luck.

By the late 2000s B.C., the ancienl Egyptians were using gemstones in such jewellery as bracelets, brooches, headdresses, pendants, and rings. They be­lieved that gems had magical powers and wore them for good luck. The ancient Egyptians made jewellery from a variety of gemstones as well as from glass, faience (tin oxide-glazed earthenware), and enamel. The Greeks valued fine metalwork in their jewellery and rarely used inlaid gems. Greek jewellery featured beautiful filigree, a lacelike decoration made by twisting fine wires of gold or silver into patterns. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans often used gems in their jewellery. They used gold settings but placed greater emphasis on precious stones. They especially wore gems in rings. The Romans were probably the first to use rings as a symbol of engagement.

European jewellery. During the early Middle Ages, beginning in the A.D. 700s, the wearing of jewellery was almost entirely restricted to royalty and members of the royal courts. Between 1200 and 1400, a prosperous mid­dle class developed. This class began to acquire jewel­lery, wearing it as a sign of social status. Gold was still the most prominent precious metal, though some bronze and silver was also used, jewellery most often took the form of brooches, buckles, head ornaments, and rings.

Precious stones were very fashionable in the 1500s. Women wove long strands of pearls and other gems into their hairdos. The first watches were made in the early 1500s. People wore them in pendants and min­iature cases. During the 1600s and 1700s, diamonds be­came popular as a result of advances in gem cutting.

African jewellery. African craftworkers have always used local materials, such as bone, coloured feathers, ivory, wood, and sometimes metals, to make colourful ornaments. Necklaces of shells and seeds, studs of ivory or bone for the lobes of the ears, and bronze bangles are still popular with some Africans.

Asian jewellery. Indian jewellers have been famous for their decorative skill for nearly 4,000 years. They use gold as their chief material. Wealthy Indians used to buy as much gold as they could afford. Anklets, bracelets, and rings for the fingers, nose, and toes are stiil popular in India and Pakistan.

Oriental jewellery. Jewellery became popular in China during the Song dynasty (960-1279). The Chinese favoured silver, enamel, feathers, and jade. Jade was often carved or polished and combined with metal. Chi­nese jewellery was very delicate and elaborate and often took the form of ornate headdresses.

Japanese jewellery was similar to Chinese jewellery. However, the Japanese first used jewelled objects to decorate swords and ceremonial objects. Later, they began to wear jewellery as a personal adornment.

Pre-Columbian jewellery. American Indian art cre­ated before A.D. 1500 is called pre-Columbian because it was produced before Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492. During pre-Columbian times, the Indians of the Inca empire inhabited large parts of South America. The Inca cultures were highly skilled at working with metals, especially gold and silver. Most of the Inca jewellery was melted down by Spanish con­querors in the 1500s. However, a few pieces survived. These include large round rings, armbands, head­dresses, masks, ornate necklaces, and earrings.

Modern jewellery. The modern jewellery movement began in the late 1940s at the end of World War II with a renewed interest in artistic and leisurely pursuits. The movement is most noted with works by George Jensen and other jewellery designers who advanced the concept of wearable art. The advent of new materials, such as plastics, Precious Metal Clay (PMC) and colouring techniques, has led to increased variety in styles. Other advances, such as the development of improved pearl harvesting by people such as Mikimoto Kokichi and the development of improved quality artificial gemstones such as moissanite (a diamond simulant), has placed jewellery within the economic grasp of a much larger segment of the population. Most jewellery today is machine made. However, many expensive pieces are created by hand.