Jewelry has always fascinated man since time immemorial. Originally the word jewelry comes from the French word joule. In the 13ht century different items of ornamentation was called jewelry, namely ear rings, necklaces armlets and others. Not only has jewelry been a status symbol for man it has been the main source of economic progress. In India, the value of gold is associated with the fate of the bride to be. The more gold a bride`s father has the better are the prospects of getting the daughter married to a good groom.
In the olden days gold was the valid alternative to currency. During the barter system things were exchanged with gold. Gold then was available in large quantities and the mining costs were not that great. In the East both men and women wore ornaments.
Gold definitely has a therapeutic effect. It is used for the treatment of Tuberculosis. This is why gold jewelry was worn by people to enable them to breathe in the purified air. Nose studs especially in India, is specifically worn by ladies even today to inhale healthy air.
Jewelry was also used in witchcraft earlier. Gold amulets and necklaces were worn by superstitious people in order to ward off evil forces. Jewelry was even worn to bring people together. Dwindling relations were recovered with the help of jewelry too. Along with the role of decoration jewelry also was used to fasten clothes and clip one`s hair.
The definite traits of the jewelry of different countries have come about because of the various materials available there. Obviously the material which was mostly available constituted the main source of jewelry.
The Cro Magnons who came before the Homo sapiens, made the first jewelry ever about forty thousand years back. With no machines or scientific knowledge they made the ornaments out of stones, wood and bones of animals. A few centuries later natural flowers became the jewelry items for women. In fact even to day women wear ornaments made only out of flowers for their wedding.
The jewelry at the initial stages was well crafted and was strung with the help of the hair from the animals. The horse tail was a useful means of fastening the fragments of jewelry to give it a shape. Excavations show that the clasps made of animal bones were used to hold pieces of clothing together. Of course we can we forget the mammoth that walked the surface of the earth. The tusks then too were an important material for jewelry.
Jewelry took on a more polished form about five thousand years back. It was the Egyptians who molded the lustrous gold into various shapes of adornment. The Pharaohs wore gold jewelry extensively because it was easily available there. Not just gold but precious gems were also embedded into the ornaments. The Red sea was the endless source of precious stones of various colors. The king`s scepter and the head gear too were made of a combination of the metal and the gems. The designs were rather straight and lined. This was a contrast to the ornaments that the Mesopotamians wore. They had a fascination for natural designs like vines, creepers and leaves.
Greece and Rome were the two countries who wore the maximum jewelry in their everyday life, for a long time. And as both Kingdoms extended over vast areas, it made easy for them to search for raw materials. Bronze, copper were also used to make decorative items.
Wooden ornaments were also used but for a short time because of their ephemeral nature. The Italians were known for using ornaments with perfume stored in them. Later the use of baked mud too became a stylish and cheap material for jewelry, during the Harappa and Mohenjo Daro civilizations.
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