RINGS A ring is a circle of platinum, gold, silver
,or any other material which can be worn on the finger ,thumb,
or toe
It can be plain or gemset.
The band is called the shank and the raised gemset part is called the bezel.
Men
and women have worn them since the third millenium BC in both Eastern and
Western cultures.
Rings were originally used as money but in Roman times
many rings were worn, including a simple guard ring which was used to keep
more valuable rings in place.
In the 16th century women wore rings sewn
into their dresses or strung on a piece of ribbon around their neck.
Engagement
or betrothal rings have been used since Roman times but wedding rings
only in the 19th century.
Mourning rings were worn by a loved one
in memory of someone who had died.
Keeper rings were the same as guard rings and sergeant rings were given
by barristers to officials when they were appointed sergeant at law.
Devotional
rings have a holy name or sacred monogram on them.
Papal rings were given
to pilgrims visiting the Vatican and Ecclesiastical rings were worn by
dignitaries.
Signet rings were used to authenticate documents whilst key
rings had the ward of a key on them.
BRACELETS A piece of flexible band or links fastened
with a clasp and worn around the wrist
It is called a bangle if it is a rigid construction
Bracelets were first recorded as being worn by the Sumerians in 2500BC.
Egyptians, Greeks and Romans wore bracelets but they were not popular in
the Renaissance due to changing fashions and a penchant for long sleeves.
By the 19th century they were a very common form of jewellery often being
worn several at a time from wrist to elbow.
At the end of the 19th century
large numbers of bracelets and cuff bangles were mass produced.The Edwardians
favoured more delicate styles and in the 1920s it was again fashionable
to wear several at a time.
NECKLACES were worn throughout the ages as a loose ornament around the neck.
Chokers are close fitting and sautoirs are worn long.
2500 BC is when the
first simple gold necklace was recorded.
The Romans wore bead necklaces and
the Egyptions wore broad collars.
The Byzantine era produced necklaces from
gold and precious stones and in the Middle ages intaglios, cameos and reliquaries
were hung from chains.
In the mid 16th century necklaces were worn longer
as necklines were high.
The beginning of the 19th century proved popular
for pendants, due to the current fashion in necklines.
The bow was a common
theme during the Baroque period and in 1760 necklaces were worn quite high
on the neck along with a longer chain or esclavage. In the 1770s and 80s
necklaces covering the bosom and filling the neckline were known as festoon
necklaces.
At the beginning of the 19th century the fringe necklace evolved.
This was a single string of pearls or stones with many pendants hanging from
it. Tightly fitting neck chains are known as chokers, which have been used
since the 16th century but became very popular in the Victorian age, often
consisting of gemset ribbons or many rows of pearls. Queen Alexandra promoted
the fashion by wearing a choker and long bead necklaces together. In the
1920s fashions again changed and sautoirs were worn hanging loosely from
the shoulders with a tassel or pendant below the waist.
PARURE a parure is a suite of matching jewellery
made to be worn together. If there are only a few pieces in the set,
the term demi-parure is used. It could consist of a pair of bracelets,
earrings, brooch, necklace, ring and possibly a hair ornament as
well.
BROOCHES were originally used as a fastener but later as a decorative
item. Early examples date from the 4th and 5th century.
From the13th
to the 19th century brooches were the most popular form of jewellery.
At the end of the 19th century, insects, birds, butterflies and reptiles
were popular in the form of brooches. These were often worn as a
collection, decorating a hat, a collar and a belt. Bar brooches and
circle brooches have retained their popularity up to the present
day.
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PINS are simplified styles of brooches consisting of a straight pointed
pin with a decorative head, often gemset, enamelled or in the form of
an animal or bird.
Towards the end of the 1800s pins featured golf clubs,
tennis racquets, horses, foxes etc. Nowadays women have adopted the pin
as a lapel decoration to replace the brooch with a smaller fashionable
adornment.
Hat pins were used from Victorian times up to the 1940s, they
have a much longer pin than the stock pin or tie pin, and had a wonderful
and varied selection of tops, from the very plain ball to exotic feathers
and multi jewelled tops. Unusual hat pins have now become collectors
items.
CAMEOS are made from carved stone or shell. Traditionally sardonyx or
other two coloured hard stones were used and have been found from the
second century BC to the 21st C. They became very popular during the
Renaissance and have retained their popularity in the form of rings,
brooches and pendants.
In the 18th Century, cheaper cameos were appearring.
Wedgwood started producing moulded stoneware cameos and Bilston produced
enamel versions. Also ceramic and glass imitation cameos were becoming
increasingly popular as they were more affordable.
In 1805 Napoleon founded
a school of stone engraving to promote the production of cameos and had
his coronation crown decorated with them. Cameos became so popular that
they were imported. Shell cameos came from Sicily and lava cameos from
Pompeii.
19th Century cameos often portrayed popular figures such as Sarah
Bernhardt, Queen Victoria or other female portraits, whilst earlier pieces
showed carved scenes of historical interest, important events or mythology.
EARRINGS Ear decorations have been recorded from the
earliest times, usually consisting of a thin hoop passing through a pierced
lobe or later with screw or clip fittings.
The Romans favoured large
dome shaped earrings and also clusters which were worn through to the
Byzantine era with the addition of flat crescents and long drops of gems
on a gold wire.
During the Renaissance, both sexes wore earrings as shorter
haircuts made them fashionable. Interesting shapes such as Blackamoors,
mermaids,fish or plain pearls and pear shaped drops were worn either
tied on with a ribbon or pierced with a gold wire.
In the 17th Century, geometric
shapes found favour, also long shoulder length silk earstrings with a
small pendant attachment. Early 19th Century earrings were simple mounted
gemstones, but after 1840 the trend for decorative stamped settings took
over.
In the 1860's earrings became talking points featuring novelties
such as owls on a branch or monkeys or steam engines but by the end of
the century, earrings lost their popularity altogether apart from simple
studs.
In the Edwardian era, delicate, simple and elegant platinum set
earrings were popular whilst bobbed hairstyles in the Art Deco age made
longer more prominent earrings the fashion. In the 30s and 40s clip fittings
were made to form chunky stone set cocktail earrings. After world war
two the clip fitting was still used for cluster and pendant earrings
which needed heavier settings. From the 50's onwards, styles and fittings
were many and varied, with women wearing different earrings to suit their
dress or their mood.
HEAD DRESSES from ancient times both men and women
have worn Diadems often made of gold in the form of a wreath and set
with gems and pearls. The bandeau was worn in Italy in Mediaeval times
and in western europe from the mid 19th Century to the present day.
It consists of a narrow band that circled the head low on the brow.The
Ferronierre was again worn in Italy in the 15th Century and had a central
gem worn on the forehead on a band of velvet or silk tied at the back
of the head.
In the 19th Century the silk was replaced by a fine gold chain
or beads.
Tiara was a term used by the ancient Persians to describe
a head dress.
At the end of the 19th Century they were worn by married women
in America and Europe and were a part of court society up until the
outbreak of world war II.
Tiaras consisted usually of a curved metal
band with a central raised piece encrusted with jewels. In Victorian
times tiaras would be made to convert into necklaces and brooches.
CUFFLINKS are used to fasten a cuff of a shirt, they come in many styles,
some gemset, some enamelled, some of humorous design. Victorian cufflinks
were usually gold and quite ornate. The Edwardians favoured more simple
designs.
JEWELLERY has been used for trading, decoration and
as a symbol of power and wealth. Since civilisation began, rich, powerful,
beautiful and ordinary people have adorned themselves.
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