Jewelry

Jewelry

Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as broochesringsnecklacesearringspendantsbracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western perspective, the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal such as gold often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as glass, shells and other plant materials may be used.

Jewellery is one of the oldest types of archaeological artefact – with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the oldest known jewellery.[1] The basic forms of jewellery vary between cultures but are often extremely long-lived; in European cultures the most common forms of jewellery listed above have persisted since ancient times, while other forms such as adornments for the nose or ankle, important in other cultures, are much less common.

Jewellery may be made from a wide range of materials. Gemstones and similar materials such as amber and coralprecious metalsbeads, and shells have been widely used, and enamel has often been important. In most cultures jewellery can be understood as a status symbol, for its material properties, its patterns, or for meaningful symbols. Jewellery has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings, and even genital jewellery. In modern European culture the amount worn by adult males is relatively low compared with other cultures and other periods in European culture.

Etymology

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The word jewellery itself is derived from the word jewel, which was anglicised from the Old French “jouel“,[2] and beyond that, to the Latin word “jocale“, meaning plaything. In British EnglishIndian EnglishNew Zealand EnglishHiberno-EnglishAustralian English, and South African English it is spelled jewellery. At the same time, the spelling is jewelry in American English.[3] Both are used in Canadian English. However jewelry 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.

Form and function

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A gold, diamonds and sapphires red guilloché enamel “Boule de Genève“, a type of pendant watch used as an accessory for women. An example of an object which is functional, artistic/decorative, marker of social status or a symbol of personal meaning.

Humans have used jewellery for a number of different reasons:

  • functional, generally to fix clothing or hair in place.
  • as a marker of social status and personal status, as with a wedding ring
  • as a signifier of some form of affiliation, whether ethnic, religious or social
  • to provide talismanic protection (in the form of amulets)[4]
  • as an artistic display
  • as a carrier or symbol of personal meaning – such as love, mourning, a personal milestone or even luck
  • generally considered as a good investment
  • superstition[5]

Most[quantify] cultures at some point have had a practice of keeping large amounts of wealth stored in the form of jewellery. Numerous cultures store wedding dowries in the form of jewellery or make jewellery as a means to store or display coins. Alternatively, jewellery has been used as a currency or trade good to buy and sell.[6] an example being the use of slave beads.[7]

Many items of jewellery, such as brooches and buckles, originated as purely functional items, but evolved into decorative items as their functional requirement diminished.[8]

Jewellery can symbolise group membership (as in the case, of the Christian crucifix or the Jewish Star of David) or status (as in the case of chains of office, or the Western practice of married people wearing wedding rings).

Wearing of amulets and devotional medals to provide protection or to ward off evil is common in some cultures. These may take the form of symbols (such as the ankh), stones, plants, animals, body parts (such as the Khamsa), or glyphs (such as stylised versions of the Throne Verse in Islamic art).[9]

Materials and methods

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Hair ornament, an Art Nouveau masterpiece; by René Laliquec. 1902; gold, emeralds and diamonds; Musée d’Orsay (Paris)

In creating jewellery, gemstonescoins, or other precious items are often used, and they are typically set into precious metals. Platinum alloys range from 900 (90% pure) to 950 (95% pure). The silver used in jewellery is usually sterling silver, or 92.5% fine silver. In costume jewellerystainless steel findings are sometimes used.

Other commonly used materials include glass, such as fused-glass or enamelwood, often carved or turned; shells and other natural animal substances such as bone and ivory; natural claypolymer clay; Hemp and other twines have been used as well to create jewellery that has more of a natural feel. However, any inclusion of lead or lead solder will give a British Assay office (the body which gives U.K. jewellery its stamp of approval, the Hallmark) the right to destroy the piece, however, it is very rare for the assay office to do so.

Beads are frequently used in jewellery. These may be made of glass, gemstones, metal, wood, shells, clay and polymer clay. Beaded jewellery commonly encompasses necklacesbraceletsearringsbelts and rings. Beads may be large or small; the smallest type of beads used are known as seed beads, these are the beads used for the “woven” style of beaded jewellery. Seed beads are also used in an embroidery technique where they are sewn onto fabric backings to create broad collar neck pieces and beaded bracelets. Bead embroidery, a popular type of handwork during the Victorian era, is enjoying a renaissance in modern jewellery making. Beading, or beadwork, is also very popular in many African and indigenous North American cultures.

Silversmithsgoldsmiths, and lapidaries use methods including forgingcastingsoldering or welding, cutting, carving and “cold-joining” (using adhesivesstaples and rivets to assemble parts).[10]

Diamonds

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Diamonds

Diamonds were first mined in India.[11] Pliny may have mentioned them, although there is some debate as to the exact nature of the stone he referred to as Adamas.[12] In 2005, AustraliaBotswanaRussia and Canada ranked among the primary sources of gemstone diamond production.[13] There are negative consequences of the diamond trade in certain areas. Diamonds mined during the recent civil wars in AngolaIvory CoastSierra Leone, and other nations have been labeled as blood diamonds when they are mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency.[14]

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

Now popular in engagement rings, this usage dates back to the marriage of Maximilian I to Mary of Burgundy in 1477.[15]

A popular style is the diamond solitaire, which features a single large diamond mounted prominently.[16] Within solitaire, there are three categories in which a ring can be classified: prong, bezel and tension setting.[17]

Blaine

Blaine is a city in Anoka county in the State of Minnesota. The population was 57,186 at the 2010 census.[5] The city is located mainly in Anoka County, and is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.

 

Interstate Highway 35W, U.S. Highway 10, and Minnesota State Highway 65 are three of the main routes in the city.

Until 1877, Blaine was part of the city of AnokaMinnesota. Phillip Laddy, a native of Ireland, is recognized as the first settler in Blaine and settled near a lake that now bears his name, Laddie Lake, in 1862. Laddy died shortly after his arrival and his survivors moved on to Minneapolis. Another early settler was the Englishman George Townsend, who lived for a short time near what would today be Lever St. and 103rd Ave.