Jewellery: Difference between revisions

The word ''jewellery'' itself is derived from the word ''jewel'', which was [[anglicisation|anglicised]] from the [[French language|Old French]] "''jouel''",<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/jewel jewel. (n.d.).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307235810/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/jewel |date=2016-03-07 }} Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved August 7, 2007, from the Dictionary.com website.</ref> and beyond that, to the [[Latin]] word "''jocale''", meaning plaything. In [[British English]], [[Indian English]], [[New Zealand English]], [[Hiberno-English]], [[Australian English]], and [[South African English]] it is spelled ''jewellery.'' At the same time, the spelling is ''jewelry'' in [[American English]].<ref>see [[American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English|American and British spelling differences]]</ref> Both are used in [[Canadian English]]. However, ''{{not a typo|jewellery}}'' prevails by a two-to-one margin. In French and a few other European languages the equivalent term, ''joaillerie'', may also cover decorated metalwork in precious metal such as ''[[objets d'art]]'' and church items, not just objects worn on the person.

[[File:Diamonds.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[DiamondsDiamond]]s]]

The [[British crown jewels]] contain the [[Cullinan Diamond]], part of the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found (1905), at 3,106.75 [[Carat (unitmass)|carats]] (621.35 g).

From an environmental perspective, the production of synthetic diamonds generally has a smaller ecological footprint than traditional [[diamond mining]], which can result in extensive land degradation and habitat destruction. While lab-grown diamonds do require energy for their production, many companies are actively adopting renewable energy sources to mitigate their environmental impact.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Yusuf |title=Diamonds Made With Solar Power Are Offering Fiancées Ethical Fashion |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/diamonds-made-with-solar-power-are-offering-fiancees-ethical-fashion-475d1c7b |website=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=10 January 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sarnoff |first=Leah |title=Are lab-grown diamonds as sustainable as advertised? |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/lab-grown-diamonds-sustainable-advertised/story?id=109046877 |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |language=en}}</ref>

;[[Amber]]: Amber, an ancient [[organic gemstone]], is composed of tree resin that has hardened over time. The stone must be at least one million years old to be classified as amber, and some amber can be up to 120&nbsp; million years old.

[[File:A002.jpg|thumb|right|An example of gold -plated jewellery.]]

The earliest known Jewellery was actually created not by modern humans (''Homo sapiens'') but by [[Neanderthal]] living in Europe. Specifically, perforated beads made from small sea shellsseashells have been found dating to 115,000 years ago in the Cueva de los Aviones, a cave along the southeast coast of Spain. Later in Kenya, at [[Enkapune Ya Muto]], beads made from perforated [[ostrich]] egg shellseggshells have been dated to more than 40,000 years ago. In Russia, a stone bracelet and marble ring are attributed to a similar age.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.archaeology.org/news//3270-150507-siberia-denisovan-bracelet |title=Stone Bracelet May Have Been Made by Denisovans |year=2015 |quote=A stone bracelet unearthed in Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia in 2008 is being called the oldest-known {{not a typo|jewellery}} of its kind. Anatoly Derevyanko, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, and the research team believe that the cave's Denisovan layers were uncontaminated by human activity from a later period. The soil around the two fragments of the {{not a typo|jewellery}} piece was dated with oxygen isotopic analysis to 40,000 years ago. "In the same layer, where we found a Denisovan bone, were found interesting things; until then it was believed these were the hallmark of the emergence of Homo sapiens. First of all, there were symbolic items, such as {{not a typo|jewellery}}, including the stone bracelet as well as a ring, carved out of marble," Derevyanko told The Siberian Times|access-date=2015-05-10|archive-date=2018-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925215947/https://www.archaeology.org/news//3270-150507-siberia-denisovan-bracelet|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gorgons, pomegranates, acorns, lotus flowers and palms were a clear indicator of Greek influence in Etruscan jewellery. The modelling of heads, which was a typical practice from the Greek severe period, was a technique that spread throughout the Etruscan territory. An even clearer evidence of new influences is the shape introduced in the Orientalizing era: The Bullae. A pear -shaped vessel used to hold perfume. Its surface was usually decorated with repoussé and engraved symbolic figures.

The [[Indian subcontinent]] has a long jewellery history, which has gone through various changes via cultural influence and politics for more than 5,000–8,000 years.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} Because India had an abundant supply of precious metals and gems, it prospered financially through export and exchange with other countries. While European traditions were heavily influenced by waxing and waning empires, India enjoyed a continuous development of art forms for some 5,000 years.<ref name="Untracht 1997" /> One of the first to start jewellery making were the peoples of the [[Indus Valley civilization]]. By 1500 BC, the peoples of the Indus Valley were creating gold earrings and necklaces, bead necklaces, and metallic [[bangle]]s.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} Before 2100 BC, prior to the period when metals were widely used, the largest jewellery trade in the Indus Valley region was the [[bead]] trade. Beads in the Indus Valley were made using simple techniques. First, a bead maker would need a rough stone, which would be bought from an eastern stone trader. The stone would then be placed into a hot oven where it would be heated until it turned deep red, a colour highly prized by people of the Indus Valley. The red stone would then be chipped to the right size and a hole bored through it with primitive drills. The beads were then polished. Some beads were also painted with designs. This art form was often passed down through the family. Children of bead makers often learned how to work beads from a young age. Each stone had its own characteristics related to Hinduism.{{Cn|date=December 2024}}

Jewellery in the [[Indus Valley Civilization]] was worn predominantly by females, who wore numerous clay or shell bracelets on their wrists. They were often shaped like doughnuts and painted black. Over time, clay bangles were discarded for more durable ones. In present-day [[India]], bangles are made out of [[metal]] or glass.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tamilnadu.com/fashion/bangles.html |title=Bangles |publisher=Tamilnadu.com |date=4 March 2013 |access-date=14 March 2013 |archive-date=18 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018071805/http://tamilnadu.com/fashion/bangles.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Other pieces that women frequently wore were thin bands of gold that would be worn on the forehead, earrings, primitive brooches, [[choker]]s, and gold rings. Although women wore jewellery the most, some men in the Indus Valley wore beads. Small beads were often crafted to be placed in men and women's hair. The beads were about one millimetre long.{{Cn|date=December 2024}}

According to Hindu belief, gold and silver are considered as sacred metals.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} Gold is symbolic of the warm sun, while silver suggests the cool moon. Both are the quintessential metals of Indian jewellery. Pure gold does not oxidise or corrode with time, which is why Hindu tradition associates gold with immortality. Gold imagery occurs frequently in ancient Indian literature. In the Vedic Hindu belief of cosmological creation, the source of physical and spiritual human life originated in and evolved from a golden womb (hiranyagarbha) or egg (hiranyanda), a metaphor of the sun, whose light rises from the primordial waters.<ref>{{cite book |last=Untracht |first=Oppi |title=Traditional Jewelry of India |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-8109-3886-1 |pages=278 |publisher=Harry N. Abrams}}</ref>

Jewellery had great status with India's royalty; it was so powerful that they established laws, limiting wearing of jewellery to royalty. Only royalty and a few others to whom they granted permission could wear gold ornaments on their feet. This would normally be considered breaking the appreciation of the sacred metals. Even though the majority of the Indian population wore jewellery, [[Maharaja]]s and people related to royalty had a deeper connection with jewellery.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} The [[Maharaja]]'s role was so important that the Hindu philosophers identified him as central to the smooth working of the world. He was considered as a divine being, a deity in human form, whose duty was to uphold and protect dharma, the moral order of the universe.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Prior |first1=Katherine |last2=Adamson |first2=John |title=Maharajas' Jewels |year=2000 |publisher=Vendome Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-86565-218-7 |pages=12}}</ref> The largest ever single order to [[Cartier (jeweler)#Royalty|Cartier]] was made in 1925 by the [[List of princely states of British India (by region)|Indian royalty]], the [[Maharaja of Patiala]], for the [[Patiala Necklace]] and other {{not a typo|jewellery}} worth {{INRConvert|1000|m|year=1925|to=USD EUR}}.<ref>[https://theprint.in/feature/from-bahadur-shah-zafar-to-the-nizam-of-hyderabad-a-jewellery-brand-for-the-royals/1197972/ From Bahadur Shah Zafar to the Nizam of Hyderabad, a jewellery brand for the royals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930003440/https://theprint.in/feature/from-bahadur-shah-zafar-to-the-nizam-of-hyderabad-a-jewellery-brand-for-the-royals/1197972/ |date=2023-09-30 }}, The Print, 5 Nov 2022.</ref>

[[Navaratna]] (nine gems) is a powerful jewel frequently worn by a [[Maharaja]] (Emperor). It is an amulet, which comprises diamond, pearl, ruby, sapphire, emerald, topaz, cat's eye, coral, and hyacinth (red zircon). Each of these stones is associated with a celestial deity, representedrepresenting the totality of the Hindu universe when all nine gems are together. The diamond is the most powerful gem among the nine stones.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} There were various cuts for the gemstone. Indian Kings bought gemstones privately from the sellers. Maharaja and other royal family members value gem as Hindu God.{{What|date=December 2024}} They exchanged gems with people to whom they were very close, especially the royal family members and other intimate allies.

[[India]] was the first country to mine [[diamond]]s, with some mines dating back to 296 BC.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} India traded the diamonds, realising their valuable qualities. Historically, diamonds have been given to retain or regain a lover's or ruler's lost favour, as symbols of tribute, or as an expression of fidelity in exchange for concessions and protection.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} Mughal emperors and Kings used the diamonds as a means of assuring their immortality by having their names and worldly titles inscribed upon them. Moreover, it has played and continues to play a pivotal role in Indian social, political, economic, and religious event, as it often has done elsewhere.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} In Indian history, diamonds have been used to acquire military equipment, finance wars, foment revolutions, and tempt defections. They have contributed to the abdication or the decapitation of potentates. They have been used to murder a representative of the dominating power by lacing his food with crushed diamond.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} Indian diamonds have been used as security to finance large loans needed to buttress politically or economically tottering regimes. Victorious military heroes have been honoured by rewards of diamonds and also have been used as ransom payment for release from imprisonment or abduction.<ref>{{cite book |last=Prior |first=Katherine |title=Traditional Jewelry of India |year=2000 |publisher=Vendome |location=New York |pages=312}}</ref>

Another ancient American civilization with expertise in jewellery making were the [[Maya civilization|Maya]]. During the Pre-Classic and Classic era of Maya civilization, the Maya were making jewellery from local materials such as jade, pearls, and sea shellseashell while also incorporating imported materials such as obsidian and turquoise. In the Terminal Classic and Post-Classic, importation of gold, silver, [[bronze]], and [[copper]] lead to the use of these materials in jewellery. Merchants and nobility were the only few that wore expensive jewellery in the Maya region, much the same as with the Aztecs.<ref name="Reader 1983" /> Jade in particular had an important [[Jade use in Mesoamerica|role across Mesoamerica]].

Island jewellery is still very much primal because of the lack of communication with outside cultures. Some areas of Borneo and Papua New Guinea are yet to be explored by Western nations. However, the island nations that were flooded with Western missionaries have had drastic changes made to their jewellery designs. Missionaries saw any type of tribal jewellery as a sign of the wearer's devotion to paganism. Thus, many tribal designs were lost forever in the mass conversion to Christianity.<ref name="Neich 2004">Neich, R., Pereira, F. 2004. Pacific Jewellery and Adornment. ''David Bateman'' & ''Auckland Museum''. {{ISBN|1869535359}}.</ref>

[[File:Male hand with two rings operating computer mouse (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Male hand with modern silver rings, one with a tribal motivemotif.]]

Most modern commercial jewellery continues traditional forms and styles, but designers such as [[Georg Jensen]] have widened 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 Kōkichi]] and the development of improved quality artificial[[Synthetic gemstone|synthetic gemstones]] such as [[moissanite]] (a [[diamond simulant]]), has placed jewellery within the economic grasp of a much larger segment of the population.

The late 20th century saw the blending of European design with oriental techniques such as [[Mokume-gane]]. The following are innovations in the decades straddling the year 2000: "Mokume-gane, hydraulic [[Die forming (plastics)|die forming]], anti-clastic [[raising (metalworking)|raising]], [[fold-forming]], reactive metal [[Anodizing|anodising]], shell forms, [[Metal clay|PMC]], [[photoetching]], and [use of] [[CAD/CAM]]."<ref>McCrieght, Tim. "What's New?" ''Metalsmith'' Spring 2006, Vol. 26 Issue 1, pp. 42–45</ref>

Also, [[3D printing]] as a production technique gains more and more importance.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} With a great variety of services offering this production method, jewellery design becomes accessible to a growing number of creatives. An important advantage of using 3d printing are the relatively low costs for [[prototype]]s, small batch series or unique and [[Personalization|personalized]] designs. Shapes that are hard or impossible to create by hand can often be realized by 3D printing. Popular materials to print include [[polyamide]], [[steel]] and [[wax]] (latter for further processing). Every printable material has its very own constraints that have to be considered while designing the piece of jewellery using [[3D modelling software]].

[[Art jewellery|Artisan jewellery]] continues to grow as both a hobby and a profession.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} With more than 17 United States periodicals about beading alone, resources, accessibility, and a low initial cost of entry continues to expand production of hand-made adornments.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} Some fine examples of artisan jewellery can be seen at [[The Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ajew/hd_ajew.htm |title=Nineteenth-Century American Jewelry |work=metmuseum.org |access-date=2006-09-25 |archive-date=2006-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214063020/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ajew/hd_ajew.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The increase in numbers of students choosing to study jewellery design and production in Australia has grown in the past 20 years, and Australia now has a thriving contemporary jewellery community.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} Many of these jewellers have embraced modern materials and techniques, as well as incorporating traditional workmanship.

[[Freemasons]] attach jewels to their detachable collars when in Lodge to signify a Brothers Office held with the Lodge.{{Cn|date=December 2024}} For example, the square represents the Master of the Lodge and the dove represents the Deacon.

According to a 2007 KPMG study,<ref>{{cite journal |last=KPMG India |title=Global Jewelry Consumption |journal=Gems and Gemology |volume=XLIII |issue=Summer 2007 |pages=180 |year=2007}}</ref> the largest jewellery market is the United States with a market share of 31%, Japan, India, China, and the Middle East each with 8–9%, and Italy with 5%. The authors of the study predicted{{Update inline|date=December 2024}} a dramatic change in market shares by 2015, where the market share of the United States will have dropped to around 25%, and China and India will increase theirs to over 13%. The trend of buying jewellery online is also increasing day by day. The Middle East will remain more or less constant at 9%, whereas Europe's and Japan's market share will be halved and become less than 4% for Japan, and less than 3% for the biggest individual European countries, Italy and the UK.