Why Folks Wear Jewelry

Posted by Namit Dolkar on February 26th, 2023

As far as we realize, people have been wearing Jewellery for, well, as long as there have been people! So why do they do it? There are actually several reasons. Which is probably why it's so universal.

Probably the first things that spring to mind when considering why people wear Jewelry are connected with wealth. Jewellery has been the principal way of financial riches displayed in lots of societies and civilizations. Many of these cultures have, at some point, had a practice of keeping large amounts of riches stored in the form of Jewellery so Jewellery has become a way of keeping wealth and becomes a form of currency. Even today, numerous cultures exploit Jewellery in wedding ceremony dowries and rituals, either symbolically or actually as a form of wealth transfer. Jewellery has additionally been used as a money to trade goods. Know more in details about Amrapali Silver Earrings

But it's not every about cash. Many items of jewelry, such as brooches, clasps, pins and buckles originated as purely functional items, evolving later into ornamental items as clothing itself evolved, and the functional requirement in support of clothes reduced. 

Jewellery can also be used principally for symbolic reasons - to show account of a group, as, for example, in the wearing of the Christian crucifix or Jewish Star of David, or of status, as in the wearing of chains of office, or the mostly Traditional western exercise of married individuals wearing a wedding ring. In different periods of history and in different parts of the world different components and forms possess been ascribed different meanings. In Victorian occasions, for example, a Snake came to mean "Eternity" as Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria an engagement ring in the form of a snake. So where today we see a pretty little bit of Jewellery as quaint, decorative, interesting or valuable - a hundred and 50 years ago the original owner may have seen the same piece to have had a quite different and deeper which means. 

In the past, and in some cases in the existing, though to perhaps a much smaller level, Jewellery can be thought to provide powers of protection like in the form of amulets and magical wards. Wearing of amulets and devotional medals to provide safety or ward off evil is typical in some cultures; these may take the form of icons (such as the ankh), stones, plants, animals, body parts (such as the Khamsa), or glyphs such as stylized versions of the Throne Verse in Islamic art. 

Although artistic display has clearly been a function of jewellery from the very beginning, the other roles described above tended to take primacy. Over more recent times, however, there has been a general drift towards the wearing of Jewellery being much more generally about the actual display of taste, style and awareness of style. This trend probably began in the late nineteenth century, with the work of such masters since Peter Carl Fabergé and René Lalique and art began to take primacy over function and riches. 

In the beginning, the first pieces of jewellery were made from natural materials, such as bone, animal teeth, shell, wood and carved stone. As time went by, more jewellery was probably made of rarer or exotic materials for more wealthy people as indications of social status. In these cases more robust and enduring materials were generally used such as metal and gemstones culminating with the use in more modern times of the hardest and most enduring natural material of all - diamond. 

Jewellery has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings and many more types of jewellery. While, today, high-quality jewellery is made with gemstones and precious metals, such as silver or gold, there is also a growing demand for art jewellery where design and creativity is prized above material value. In addition, there is also a strong move towards less costly costume jewellery, made from lower value materials and mass-produced. This offers the possibility of the wearing of Jewellery to match a particular clothing outfit or even of the use of disposable pieces for a one-off occasion. 

Costume jewellery has been part of culture for almost 300 years, beginning in the 1700s, when cheap jewellery made with glass made Jewellery available to the common people. The most significant growth in the wearing the costume Jewellery, however, began in the middle of the twentieth century with the use of machinery and modern manufacturing methods driving the cost of items significantly lower. In the 20th century the average woman could quite easily afford to acquire and wear a considerable amount of this mass-produced Jewellery that was both affordable and stylish. Know more in details about Dholki Necklace

So affordable was this Jewellery that it gradually became the practice of many women to purchase Jewellery simply to match, or accessorize, a particular clothing outfit. So today its almost rare to see a woman dressed without Jewellery of some kind. And that's where the pendulum, once again, is starting to swing back with a discernible return to Jewellery with less 'bling' and more class and made from genuinely valuable materials such as gold or silver. Being designed and made by an individual artisan only adds to its value. 

Nowadays, it's never been easier to find genuine quality Jewellery at affordable prices with the Internet making it available to anyone taking the time to look.

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Namit Dolkar

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Namit Dolkar
Joined: April 24th, 2021
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