Fashion Jewelry - The Beginning
"Jewelry like art, is an expression of one's self. The jewelry is indeed art displayed in an array of colors and forms. The body is in all of the various forms, it's perfect canvas. "
Andrea Sasnett
Fashion Fabulous Jewelry
I have always been a jewelry lover. Intrigued by the many different styles and colors, I became curious about what it must have been like in the beginning. What was considered a fashion statement? We can see from history that make up existed long ago. I was sure jewelry did as well. In the ancient egyptian culture, there were collars and necklaces with huge medallions. Many of the statement necklaces today are beautifully crafted in that same fashion.
The history of jewelry is covered in the wonderful article below I located for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
History of Jewelry - All About Jewelry
Jewels were always part of human culture. Even from the times when humans first started using clothes and tools some 100.000 years ago, jewels were produced from any kind of materials that were available - stones, animal skins, feathers, plants, bones, shells, wood, and natural made semi-precious materials such as obsidian. As the time went on, advancing technology enabled artisans to start taming metals and precious gems into works of art that influenced entire cultures and many modern jewelry styles. However, even with all advancements of metallurgy and gem processing, the purpose of wearing jewelry always remained the same - they enabled wearer to express himself non-verbally, showcase wealth, rank, political and religious affiliation or affections toward someone. This enabled jewelry to become timeless and a target for constant development and refinement.
Development of early jewelry can be roughly divided across three ancient civilizations - Egypt, India and China. Egypt and Mesopotamia set standards in metallurgy, gem collecting, and glass manufacture. Their several thousand year long tradition of jewelry production laid a solid foundation for all European civilizations that came after them, and their unique style affected fashion trends even four thousand years later.
India however managed to develop such a connection to jewelry that it became integral part of their daily life and religion. Since they were the first who managed to conquer the art of gold gathering and processing, they develop art of jewel making much earlier than anyone in their environment. This made them one of the most sought destinations for trade, which eventually became driving force for the incredible expansion of European civilization during the Age of Discovery. On the far side of the world, China managed to become driving force in developing of arts and their influence slowly spread their unique style across entire Asia. Chinese style that is focused on scenes of nature, animals and dragons is today still in high popularity, and continues to be developed with each passing year.
Jewelry History
Thousands of years of advancement enabled jewelry to spread from the exclusive art form of the rich to the common personal items of adornment, which are today used by everyone around the world to express themselves in various visual fashionable ways.
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