Jewelries’ History
Jewelries’ history goes along and is greatly influenced by that of mankind. As old as clothes, this kind of garments was created for different reasons among which decoration, religion, faith in supernatural powers they attract and so on. For instance, ancient Egyptians believed the stones they used to create adornments were endowed with magical powers. Their leaders, the pharaohs were very keen on gold because it could not be found everywhere and because of its permanent luster. Ancient Greeks used precious stones such as emeralds and amethysts to conceive their jewels, while Romans added a few drops of perfume in their pendants to impregnate the nice smell and make it last all day long.
Italians have always been appreciated for their taste in jewelry as well as in clothes. Here pearls were considered to be much more worth than other types of stones. In France and England jewels have first acquired a symbolic status revealing meaning. Thus, during the Middle Ages, craftsmen and servants were not allowed to wear silver or gold objects. However, Industrial Revolution made the production of these adornments easier and objects once considered a luxury started to be manufactured and sold to the general public.
The First World War was a turning point in the history of jewelry because it represented the moment when these decorations were made of other materials such as iron and copper as gold was submitted to the governments. As women started to be better represented within the industry, more creative efforts were put into motion. The new materials gave also way to new forms and colors. The first noticeable influence is the Art Deco style and at the beginning of the twentieth century, fashion houses start to put their seal upon jewelry trends. This is the case of Chanel who was the promoter of what we call fantasy or cocktail jewels.