Since the beginning of time, humans have made use of creating ornamental jewelry for their personal adornment. In fact recently, there have been located Nassaruis shell beads, that date back as far as one hundred thousand years. That is a very long time when you consider the manufacturing of functional and decorative jewelry. However, historically many jewelry items were first created as a means of fastening ones clothing, the display of wealth and status in society as well as for creating storage units for coins and other trinkets in jewelry boxes. With a bit of research, you will find that various cultures have their own cherished wealthy possessions of precious metals and gemstones. Long ago, wedding dowries included such treasures as the family jewels for a daughter about to be married.

The Early Age of Jewelry

The Cro-Magnons were some of the first jewelry makers, approximately 40,000 years ago. The graves of Cro-Magnons, were commonly found with jewelry made from anything from mother-of-pearl, to stones, bones, teeth and mammoth tusks. Bracelets and necklaces were strung onto pieces of string or animal sinew. They held their clothing together with carved bones. Around 7,000 years ago, copper appeared on the scene of jewelry making.

Some of the most well-known jewelry makers were the ancient Egyptians, who began incorporating gold into their jewelry, which was one of their most favorite metals to work with, approximately 3,000 to 5,000 years ago. Although, the ancient Egyptians had an abundance of precious gemstones to work with, they often preferred to use colorful pieces of glass in their jewelry. They had some very impressive formulas for creating the desired color glass, since various colors were important and significant for fashionable jewelry of that time. For example, the color red symbolized the need of Isis for blood, while green represented new growth and fertility in crops. Most often Egyptian jewelry workshops were attached to their temples and palaces.

Ancient Greece was the birthplace of several types of fashion jewelry worn today, such as the cameos fashioned by Greek jewelry makers. Most often ancient Greek women wore jewelry for commemorating the special occasions of their lives as well as for any appearances in public. They were especially fond of precious metals, such as gold, silver and bronze, while they enjoyed the stunning appearance of pearls, emeralds and amethyst as well as other interesting gemstones. Jewelry then was most often given as gifts, while showing off their social status of wealth as well as for the beauty. Later they incorporated the use of clay and ivory into their jewelry ensembles. Most often their jewelry held special religious symbols, while other styles offered the comfort of lending the owner mystic powers and protection.

Meanwhile, the ancient Romans added their own special flair of creative artistry into jewelry making styles, such as the ever popular brooch. However, their pinning creation was born of the need for securely fastening their clothing. The ancient Romans were very fond of imported goods and made beautiful use of such gemstones as diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and amber. Although the majority of Roman men wore one ring upon a finger, however, there were some who wore more, their women usually wore many more pieces of jewelry than they. Rings of that time were often carved of beautiful gemstones, and utilized for sealing documents with an engraved wax seal, as was customary during the middle ages by kings and noblemen alike.

Considering that our ancient ancestors had a lot to do with the constantly evolving world of jewelry making, we owe them a great debt of thankfulness, for their inspirational means of fashioning functional and ornamental jewelry styles of various gold and stunning gemstones.

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