Silver and Pearl Jewellery through History
Posted by AdrianRocker on August 28th, 2013
One of the oldest signs of symbolic thinking in mankind, jewellery, has been fascinating people for more than 100 000 years. Thousands of years later and we still are mesmerized by the beautifulgold, platinum or even silverjewellery, rhinestones and gems. Any pearl jewellery is keeping a secret that makes women fall in love irremediably with them and men want to buy them for their loved ones.
The history of jewellery goes back hundreds of thousands of years ago, when people used to craft them out of any kind of material they discovered. They were crafting them from wood, bones, stones, feathers, shells and so on. Back then, people were just starting to use clothing and tools, but jewellery seemed to be an important statement. Jewellery was there even before written language, as a sign of the development of symbolic thinking. It was a big step in separating humans from animals, as they have proved that there is a window in the soul of a human being that allows beauty and mystery to get inside.
It was not until the development of metallurgy 10 000 years ago, when jewellery started looking more like the pieces of art we see today. At that point, jewellery was crafted from copper, silver and iron. These first attempts to make silver jewellery were not so successful and only during the “Bronze Age”, 5 500 years ago, people started alloying metal to make bronze. Only later on, gemstones and other precious metals were used instead of bones and wood.Precious gems were first collected in Egypt and Mesopotamia, while India was the first region where gold started being used. This is also the place where jewellery art started, making India one of the most popular destinations for commerce. After that, it took a long time, but Europe finally managed to rise as a driving force in gold and silver jewellery crafting and innovation.
Pearls are the first gems that have been discovered by mankind. It was also considered the most valuable one for hundreds of years. The oldest known pearl jewellery belonged to a Persian princess who lived during the 6th century BC. Most of the times, they were restricted to royalties only. They symbolised purity and natural beauty, because pearls are the only gems that don’t require human intervention in order to be turned in jewelleries. Both men and women wore them throughout our history and they keep mesmerizing us even after thousands of years have passed and hundreds of other gems have been discovered. Their simplicity continues to fascinate us and today, pearls are considered to be a symbol of feminine perfection.
You can browse a wide range of pearl jewellery, as well as silver jewellery from UK Silver Jewellery, one of the six web sites owned by The Funky Jewellery Company Ltd. Save up to 50% with special selected jewelry for women, men and children and find the perfect gift for your loved ones!
