Jewellery

Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. These items may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a Western point of view, jewellery refers to lasting ornaments, not things like flowers.

For many centuries, metals such as gold and silver, often combined with gemstones, have been the usual materials for jewellery. Other materials like glass, shells, or wood can also be used to make jewellery.

Jewellery is one of the oldest types of archaeological artefact. For example, 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells are thought to be the oldest known jewellery. The main shapes of jewellery change between cultures, but many have stayed the same for a very long time. In European cultures, the most common types of jewellery have been worn since ancient times.

Etymology

The word jewellery comes from the word jewel. This word came from an old French word "jouel", which itself came from a Latin word "jocale" meaning "plaything". In British English, Indian English, New Zealand English, Hiberno-English, Australian English, and South African English, we spell it jewellery. In American English, it is spelled jewelry. Both spellings are used in Canadian English, but jewellery is used more often. In French and some other European languages, a similar word, joaillerie, can also refer to decorative metalwork made from precious metals, like art objects and church items, not just things worn on the body.

Form and function

Humans have used jewellery for many reasons. It can help hold clothes or hair in place, show important things like being married, or belong to a certain group. Jewellery can also be worn for protection, as a beautiful art piece, or to remember special moments.

Many cultures have kept wealth as jewellery, and some even used jewellery for trading. Some jewellery started as useful items but became decorative over time. Wearing certain pieces can show which group someone belongs to or their special role.

Materials and methods

When making jewellery, people often use beautiful stones like gemstones, coins, or other special items. These are usually placed in precious metals such as platinum, silver, or gold. Platinum used in jewellery is mixed with other metals to make it stronger, and silver is often made into a special mix called sterling silver. For less expensive jewellery called costume jewellery, stainless steel is sometimes used.

Other materials used for jewellery include glass, wood, shells, and natural things like bone and ivory. Beads are also popular in jewellery. They can be made from many materials, such as glass, metal, wood, shells, or clay. Beads are used to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings, belts, and rings.

People who make jewellery use many different skills. They might shape the metal by forging, casting, or soldering. They can also cut or carve the materials.

Diamonds

Main article: Diamond

Diamonds were first found in India. Today, places like Australia, Botswana, Russia, and Canada are big sources of diamonds. Diamonds are very popular in jewellery, especially in engagement rings. One famous style is the diamond solitaire, which has one large diamond shown clearly.

The British crown jewels include the Cullinan Diamond, which is one of the largest diamonds ever found.

Other gemstones

Main article: Gemstone

[Jade](/wiki/Jade)

[Jasper](/wiki/Jasper)

[Ruby](/wiki/Ruby)

[Sapphire](/wiki/Sapphire)

[Turquoise](/wiki/Turquoise)

Many beautiful stones are used in jewellery. Besides their colour, these stones are chosen for how rare they are, how hard they are, and how they look when light shines on them. Some well-known stones include Amber, which is made from old tree resin, and Emerald, known for its green colour.

Turquoise is special because it comes from only a few places in the world, mostly in the southwest United States. It is loved for its bright blue colour and is used in many different jewellery styles.

Gold and other precious metals

Gold and other precious metals are often used to make jewellery. These metals do not easily change or get damaged. Gold is made stronger by mixing it with other metals, and this mix is measured in carats. Gold is special because it is the only coloured noble metal — others look silvery.

For platinum, gold, and silver jewellery, there are many ways to finish the metal. The most common way is to make it very shiny, called high-polish. Another way is to make it less shiny, called satin or matte finish, which helps show off the stones better. Brushed finishes give the jewellery a textured look, and hammered finishes create a wavy pattern.

Impact on society

Jewellery has often been used to show a person's importance or status. In ancient Rome, only certain people were allowed to wear rings, and special rules decided what kind of jewellery someone could wear based on their rank.

Different cultures have had different ideas about jewellery over time. For example, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was thought that men in Western countries shouldn't wear earrings. Today, some people wear body jewellery, like piercings, as a way to express themselves, while others do not accept it. Also, hip hop culture made popular the term bling-bling to describe showing off jewellery.

The jewellery industry tried to make wedding rings for men popular in the early 20th century, and this caught on. However, their attempt to make engagement rings for men was not as successful.

Some religions have special rules about jewellery. For example, in Islam, men are not allowed to wear gold. Most Islamic jewellery was part of a bride's dowries and was sold when she passed away, rather than being kept in the family. Because of this, Islamic jewellery from before the 19th century is very rare.

History

The history of jewellery is long and goes back many years, with many different uses among different cultures. It has endured for thousands of years and has provided various insights into how ancient cultures worked.

Prehistory

The earliest known jewellery was actually created not by modern humans but by precursors of modern humans living in Europe and North Africa. The National Jewellery Museum of Morocco in Rabat displays a reproduction of perforated shell beads. The original beads are the oldest known pieces of such artefacts dated to about 142,000 years. They were found in 2019 by archaeologists in the Bizmoune cave near Essaouira, Morocco, and show perforations indicating purposeful processing that may have been a token of identity. Other perforated beads made from small seashells by Neanderthals have been found dating to 115,000 years ago in the Cueva de los Aviones, a cave along the southeast coast of Spain. Later in Kenya, at Enkapune Ya Muto, beads made from perforated ostrich eggshells have been dated to more than 40,000 years ago. In Russia, a stone bracelet and marble ring are attributed to a similar age.

Later, the European early modern humans had crude necklaces and bracelets of bone, teeth, berries, and stone hung on pieces of string or animal sinew, or pieces of carved bone used to secure clothing together. In some cases, jewellery had shell or mother-of-pearl pieces. A decorated engraved pendant (the Star Carr Pendant) dating to around 11,000 BC, and thought to be the oldest Mesolithic art in Britain, was found at the site of Star Carr in North Yorkshire in 2015. In southern Russia, carved bracelets made of mammoth tusk have been found. The Venus of Hohle Fels features a perforation at the top, showing that it was intended to be worn as a pendant.

Around seven thousand years ago, the first sign of copper jewellery was seen. In October 2012, the Museum of Ancient History in Lower Austria revealed that they had found a grave of a female jewellery worker – forcing archaeologists to take a fresh look at prehistoric gender roles after it appeared to be that of a female fine metal worker – a profession that was previously thought to have been carried out exclusively by men.

Africa

Egypt

The first signs of established jewellery making in Ancient Egypt was around 3,000–5,000 years ago. The Egyptians preferred the luxury, rarity, and workability of gold over other metals. In Predynastic Egypt jewellery soon began to symbolise political and religious power in the community. Although it was worn by wealthy Egyptians in life, it was also worn by them in death, with jewellery commonly placed among grave goods.

In conjunction with gold jewellery, Egyptians used coloured glass, along with semi-precious gems. The colour of the jewellery had significance. Green, for example, symbolised fertility. Lapis lazuli and silver had to be imported from beyond the country's borders.

Egyptian designs were most common in Phoenician jewellery. Also, ancient Turkish designs found in Persian jewellery suggest that trade between the Middle East and Europe was not uncommon. Women wore elaborate gold and silver pieces that were used in ceremonies.

Europe and the Middle East

The first gold jewellery from Bulgaria

The oldest gold jewellery in the world is dating from 4,600 BC to 4,200 BC and was discovered in Europe, at the site of Varna Necropolis, near the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria.

Mesopotamia

By approximately 5,000 years ago, jewellery-making had become a significant craft in the cities of Mesopotamia. The most significant archaeological evidence comes from the Royal Cemetery of Ur, where hundreds of burials dating 2900–2300 BC were unearthed; tombs such as that of Puabi contained a multitude of artefacts in gold, silver, and semi-precious stones, such as lapis lazuli crowns embellished with gold figurines, close-fitting collar necklaces, and jewel-headed pins. In Assyria, men and women both wore extensive amounts of jewellery, including amulets, ankle bracelets, heavy multi-strand necklaces, and cylinder seals.

Jewellery in Mesopotamia tended to be manufactured from thin metal leaf and was set with large numbers of brightly coloured stones (chiefly agate, lapis, carnelian, and jasper). Favoured shapes included leaves, spirals, cones, and bunches of grapes. Jewellers created works both for human use and for adorning statues and idols. They employed a wide variety of sophisticated metalworking techniques, such as cloisonné, engraving, fine granulation, and filigree.

Greece

The Greeks started using gold and gems in jewellery in 1600 BC, although beads shaped as shells and animals were produced widely in earlier times. Around 1500 BC, the main techniques of working gold in Greece included casting, twisting bars, and making wire. Many of these sophisticated techniques were popular in the Mycenaean period, but unfortunately this skill was lost at the end of the Bronze Age. The forms and shapes of jewellery in ancient Greece such as the armring (13th century BC), brooch (10th century BC) and pins (7th century BC), have varied widely since the Bronze Age as well. Other forms of jewellery include wreaths, earrings, necklace and bracelets. A good example of the high quality that gold working techniques could achieve in Greece is the 'Gold Olive Wreath' (4th century BC), which is modelled on the type of wreath given as a prize for winners in athletic competitions like the Olympic Games. Jewellery dating from 600 to 475 BC is not well represented in the archaeological record, but after the Persian wars the quantity of jewellery again became more plentiful. One particularly popular type of design at this time was a bracelet decorated with snake and animal-heads. Because these bracelets used considerably more metal, many examples were made from bronze. By 300 BC, the Greeks had mastered making coloured jewellery and using amethysts, pearl, and emeralds. Also, the first signs of cameos appeared, with the Greeks creating them from Indian Sardonyx, a striped brown pink and cream agate stone. Greek jewellery was often simpler than in other cultures, with simple designs and workmanship. However, as time progressed, the designs grew in complexity and different materials were soon used.

Jewellery in Greece was hardly worn and was mostly used for public appearances or on special occasions. It was frequently given as a gift and was predominantly worn by women to show their wealth, social status, and beauty. The jewellery was often supposed to give the wearer protection from the "evil eye" or endowed the owner with supernatural powers, while others had a religious symbolism. Older pieces of jewellery that have been found were dedicated to the Gods.

They worked two styles of pieces: cast pieces and pieces hammered out of sheet metal. Fewer pieces of cast jewellery have been recovered. It was made by casting the metal onto two stone or clay moulds. The two-halves were then joined, and wax, followed by molten metal, was placed in the centre. This technique had been practised since the late Bronze Age. The more common form of jewellery was the hammered sheet type. Sheets of metal would be hammered to thickness and then soldered together. The inside of the two sheets would be filled with wax or another liquid to preserve the metal work. Different techniques, such as using a stamp or engraving, were then used to create motifs on the jewellery. Jewels may then be added to hollows or glass poured into special cavities on the surface.

Etruscan

Gorgons, pomegranates, acorns, lotus flowers and palms were a clear indicator of Greek influence in Etruscan jewellery. The modelling of heads, which was a typical practice from the Greek severe period, was a technique that spread throughout the Etruscan territory. An even clearer evidence of new influences is the shape introduced in the Orientalising era: The Bullae. A pear-shaped vessel used to hold perfume. Its surface was usually decorated with repoussé and engraved symbolic figures.

Much of the jewellery found was not worn by Etruscans, but were made to accompany them in the after world. Most, if not all, techniques of Etruscan goldsmiths were not invented by them as they are dated to the third millennium BC.

Rome

Although jewellery work was abundantly diverse in earlier times, especially among the tribes such as the Celts, when the Romans conquered most of Europe, jewellery was changed as smaller factions developed the Roman designs. The most common artefact of early Rome was the brooch, which was used to secure clothing together. The Romans used a diverse range of materials for their jewellery from their extensive resources across the continent. Although they used gold, they sometimes used bronze or bone, and in earlier times, glass beads and pearl. As early as 2,000 years ago, they imported Sri Lankan sapphires and Indian diamonds and used emeralds and amber in their jewellery. In Roman-ruled England, fossilised wood called jet from Northern England was often carved into pieces of jewellery. The early Italians worked in crude gold and created clasps, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. They also produced larger pendants that could be filled with perfume.

Like the Greeks, often the purpose of Roman jewellery was to ward off the "evil eye" given by other people. Although women wore a vast array of jewellery, men often only wore a finger ring. Although they were expected to wear at least one ring, some Roman men wore a ring on every finger, while others wore none. Roman men and women wore rings with an engraved gem on it that was used with wax to seal documents, a practice that continued into medieval times when kings and noblemen used the same method. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the jewellery designs were absorbed by neighbouring countries and tribes.

Asia

In Asia, the Indian subcontinent has the longest continuous legacy of jewellery making anywhere, Asia was the first place where these jewellery were made in large numbers for the royals with a history of over 5,000 years. One of the first to start jewellery making were the peoples of the Indus Valley civilisation, in what is now predominately modern-day Pakistan and part of northern and western India. Early jewellery making in China started around the same period, but it became widespread with the spread of Buddhism around 2,000 years ago.

China

The Chinese used silver in their jewellery more than gold. Blue kingfisher feathers were tied onto early Chinese jewellery and later, blue gems and glass were incorporated into designs. However, jade was preferred over any other stone. The Chinese revered jade because of the human-like qualities they assigned to it, such as its hardness, durability, and beauty. The first jade pieces were very simple, but as time progressed, more complex designs evolved. Jade rings from between the 4th and 7th centuries BC show evidence of having been worked with a compound milling machine, hundreds of years before the first mention of such equipment in the west.

In China, the most uncommon piece of jewellery is the earring, which was worn neither by men nor women. In modern times, earrings are still considered culturally taboo for men in China—in fact, in 2019, the Chinese video streaming service iQiyi began blurring the ears of male actors wearing earrings. Amulets were common, often with a Chinese symbol or dragon. Dragons, Chinese symbols, and phoenixes were frequently depicted on jewellery designs.

The Chinese often placed their jewellery in their graves. Most Chinese graves found by archaeologists contain decorative jewellery.

Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent has a long jewellery history, which has gone through various changes via cultural influence and politics for more than 5,000–8,000 years.^{[citation needed]} Because India had an abundant supply of precious metals and gems, it prospered financially through export and exchange with other countries. While European traditions were heavily influenced by waxing and waning empires, India enjoyed a continuous development of art forms for some 5,000 years. One of the first to start jewellery making were the peoples of the Indus Valley civilisation. By 1500 BC, the peoples of the Indus Valley were creating gold earrings and necklaces, bead necklaces, and metallic bangles.^{[citation needed]} Before 2100 BC, prior to the period when metals were widely used, the largest jewellery trade in the Indus Valley region was the bead trade. Beads in the Indus Valley were made using simple techniques. First, a bead maker would need a rough stone, which would be bought from an eastern stone trader. The stone would then be placed into a hot oven where it would be heated until it turned deep red, a colour highly prized by people of the Indus Valley. The red stone would then be chipped to the right size and a hole bored through it with primitive drills. The beads were then polished. Some beads were also painted with designs. This art form was often passed down through the family. Children of bead makers often learned how to work beads from a young age. Each stone had its own characteristics related to Hinduism.^{[citation needed]}

Jewellery in the Indus Valley Civilisation was worn predominantly by females, who wore numerous clay or shell bracelets on their wrists. They were often shaped like doughnuts and painted black. Over time, clay bangles were discarded for more durable ones. In present-day India, bangles are made out of metal or glass. Other pieces that women frequently wore were thin bands of gold that would be worn on the forehead, earrings, primitive brooches, chokers, and gold rings. Although women wore jewellery the most, some men in the Indus Valley wore beads. Small beads were often crafted to be placed in men and women's hair. The beads were about one millimetre long.^{[citation needed]}

A female skeleton (presently on display at the National Museum, New Delhi, India) wears a carlinean bangle (bracelet) on her left hand. Kada is a special kind of bracelet and is widely popular in Indian culture. They symbolise animals such as peacock, elephant, etc.

According to Hindu belief, gold and silver are considered as sacred metals. Gold is symbolic of the warm sun, while silver suggests the cool moon. Both are the quintessential metals of Indian jewellery. Pure gold does not oxidise or corrode with time, which is why Hindu tradition associates gold with immortality. Gold imagery occurs frequently in ancient Indian literature. In the Vedic Hindu belief of cosmological creation, the source of physical and spiritual human life originated in and evolved from a golden womb (hiranyagarbha) or egg (hiranyanda), a metaphor of the sun, whose light rises from the primordial waters.

Jewellery had great status with India's royalty; it was so powerful that they established laws, limiting wearing of jewellery to royalty. Only royalty and a few others to whom they granted permission could wear gold ornaments on their feet. This would normally be considered breaking the appreciation of the sacred metals. Even though the majority of the Indian population wore jewellery, Maharajas and people related to royalty had a deeper connection with jewellery.^{[citation needed]} The Maharaja's role was so important that the Hindu philosophers identified him as central to the smooth working of the world. He was considered as a divine being, a deity in human form, whose duty was to uphold and protect dharma, the moral order of the universe. The largest ever single order to Cartier was made in 1925 by the Indian royalty, the Maharaja of Patiala, for the Patiala Necklace and other jewellery worth ₹1,000 million (equivalent to ₹210 billion, US$2.3 billion or €2.2 billion in 2023).

Navaratna (nine gems) is a powerful jewel frequently worn by a Maharaja (Emperor). It is an amulet, which comprises diamond, pearl, ruby, sapphire, emerald, topaz, cat's eye, coral, and hyacinth (red zircon). Each of these stones is associated with a celestial deity, representing the totality of the Hindu universe when all nine gems are together. The diamond is the most powerful gem among the nine stones.^{[citation needed]} There were various cuts for the gemstone. Indian Kings bought gemstones privately from the sellers. Maharaja and other royal family members value gem as Hindu God.^{[clarification needed]} They exchanged gems with people to whom they were very close, especially the royal family members and other intimate allies.

India was the first country to mine diamonds, with some mines dating back to 296 BC.^{[citation needed]} India traded the diamonds, realising their valuable qualities. Historically, diamonds have been given to retain or regain a lover's or ruler's lost favour, as symbols of tribute, or as an expression of fidelity in exchange for concessions and protection.^{[citation needed]} Mughal emperors and Kings used the diamonds as a means of assuring their immortality by having their names and worldly titles inscribed upon them. Moreover, it has played and continues to play a pivotal role in Indian social, political, economic, and religious event, as it often has done elsewhere.^{[citation needed]} In Indian history, diamonds have been used to acquire military equipment, finance wars, foment revolutions, and tempt defections. They have contributed to the abdication or the decapitation of potentates. They have been used to murder a representative of the dominating power by lacing his food with crushed diamond.^{[citation needed]} Indian diamonds have been used as security to finance large loans needed to buttress politically or economically tottering regimes. Victorious military heroes have been honoured by rewards of diamonds and also have been used as ransom payment for release from imprisonment or abduction.

Today, many jewellery designs and traditions are used, and jewellery is commonplace in Indian ceremonies and weddings. For many Indians, especially those who follow the Hindu or Jain faiths, bridal jewellery is known as streedhan and functions as personal wealth for the bride only, as a sort of financial security. For this reason, this jewellery, especially in the sacred metals of gold and silver, has large cultural significance for Indian brides. Jewellery is worn on the arms and hands, ears, neck, hair, head, feet, toes and waist to bless the bride with prosperity.

North and South America

Jewellery making started in the Americas with the arrival of Paleo-Indians more than 15,000 years ago. This jewellery would have been made from stone, shell, bone and other perishable materials. The American continent is home to 2 cradles of civilisation: in the Andes and Mesoamerica. Cultures in these regions developed more complex methods of jewellery creation. The Andes is the origin of hot working metallurgy in the Americas and consequently the region has the longest history of work in materials such as silver, platinum and gold. Metallurgy began in Mesoamerica during the Termainal Classic era, likely arriving from direct maritime trade with the Andean cultures. As a result, western Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Tarascans and Mixtecs, had more complex use of the technology.

With the Moche culture, goldwork flourished. The pieces are no longer simple metalwork, but are now masterful examples of jewellery making. Pieces are sophisticated in their design, and feature inlays of turquoise, mother of pearl, spondylus shell, and amethyst. The nose and ear ornaments, chest plates, small containers and whistles are considered masterpieces of ancient Peruvian culture. A notable example of Andean metallurgy is the Northern Andean cultures' work with platinum, which has a much higher melting point than other precious metals. There are only a few known examples of cold worked platinum in the Old World and no known intentionally hot worked examples (platinum was not identified as a separate element and small inclusions appeared in some goldwork). In the New World, however, certain Andean cultures recognised platinum as a separate metal and were able to incorporate it into jewellery, such as through sintering it with gold.

Among the Late Post-Classic Aztecs, only nobility wore gold jewellery, as it showed their rank, power, and wealth. A large portion of "Aztec gold" jewellery was created by Mixtec artisans. The Mixtecs were particularly known for their goldwork and gold jewellery was part of the tribute paid by Mixtec polities to the Aztecs. In general, the more jewellery an Aztec noble wore, the higher his status or prestige. The Emperor and his High Priests, for example, would be nearly completely covered in jewellery when making public appearances. Although gold was the most common and a popular material used in Aztec jewellery, jade, turquoise, and certain feathers were considered more valuable. In addition to adornment and status, the Aztecs also used jewellery in sacrifices to appease the gods.

Another ancient American civilisation with expertise in jewellery making were the Maya. During the Pre-Classic and Classic era of Maya civilisation, the Maya were making jewellery from local materials such as jade, pearls, and seashell while also incorporating imported materials such as obsidian and turquoise. In the Terminal Classic and Post-Classic, importation of gold, silver, bronze, and copper lead to the use of these materials in jewellery. Merchants and nobility were the only few that wore expensive jewellery in the Maya region, much the same as with the Aztecs. Jade in particular had an important role across Mesoamerica.

In Northern America, Native Americans used shells, wood, turquoise, and soapstone The turquoise incorporated into Mesoamerican jewellery was primarily obtained through trade with Oasisamerica. Native Americans with access to oyster shells, often located in only one location in America, traded the shells with other tribes, showing the great importance of the body adornment trade in Northern America.

Native American

Native American jewellery is the personal adornment, often in the forms of necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, pins, brooches, labrets, and more, made by the Indigenous peoples of the United States. Native American jewellery reflects the cultural diversity and history of its makers. Native American tribes continue to develop distinct aesthetics rooted in their personal artistic visions and cultural traditions. Artists create jewellery for adornment, ceremonies, and trade. Lois Sherr Dubin writes, "[i]n the absence of written languages, adornment became an important element of Indian [Native American] communication, conveying many levels of information." Later, jewellery and personal adornment "...signaled resistance to assimilation. It remains a major statement of tribal and individual identity."

Within the Haida Nation of the Pacific Northwest, copper was used as a form of jewellery for creating bracelets.

Metalsmiths, beaders, carvers, and lapidaries combine a variety of metals, hardwoods, precious and semi-precious gemstones, beadwork, quillwork, teeth, bones, hide, vegetal fibres, and other materials to create jewellery. Contemporary Native American jewellery ranges from hand-quarried and processed stones and shells to computer-fabricated steel and titanium jewellery.

Pacific

Jewellery making in the Pacific started later than in other areas because of recent human settlement. Early Pacific jewellery was made of bone, wood, and other natural materials, and thus has not survived. Most Pacific jewellery is worn above the waist, with headdresses, necklaces, hair pins, and arm and waist belts being the most common pieces.

Jewellery in the Pacific, with the exception of Australia, is worn to be a symbol of either fertility or power. Elaborate headdresses are worn by many Pacific cultures and some, such as the inhabitants of Papua New Guinea, wear certain headdresses once they have killed an enemy. Tribesman may wear boar bones through their noses.

Island jewellery is still very much primal because of the lack of communication with outside cultures. Some areas of Borneo and Papua New Guinea are yet to be explored by Western nations. However, the island nations that were flooded with Western missionaries have had drastic changes made to their jewellery designs. Missionaries saw any type of tribal jewellery as a sign of the wearer's devotion to paganism. Thus, many tribal designs were lost forever in the mass conversion to Christianity.

Australia is now the number one supplier of opals in the world. Opals had already been mined in Europe and South America for many years prior, but in the late 19th century, the Australian opal market became predominant. Australian opals are only mined in a few select places around the country, making it one of the most profitable stones in the Pacific.

The New Zealand Māori traditionally had a strong culture of personal adornment, most famously the hei-tiki. Hei-tikis are traditionally carved by hand from bone, nephrite, or bowenite.

Nowadays, a wide range of such traditionally inspired items such as bone carved pendants based on traditional fishhooks hei matau and other greenstone jewellery are popular with young New Zealanders of all backgrounds – for whom they relate to a generalised sense of New Zealand identity. These trends have contributed towards a worldwide interest in traditional Māori culture and arts.

Other than jewellery created through Māori influence, modern jewellery in New Zealand is multicultural and varied.

Modern

Modern jewellery often keeps traditional styles but designers like Georg Jensen have expanded ideas of wearable art. New materials such as plastics, Precious Metal Clay, and new ways to colour have brought more variety in styles. Better ways to grow pearls and make synthetic gemstones like moissanite mean more people can afford beautiful pieces.

The idea of "jewellery as art" began with artisans such as Robert Lee Morris and continues today. Styles from many cultures influence jewellery, such as bling-bling popularised by music artists, including grills worn over teeth. Recent years have mixed European designs with techniques from other places. New technologies like 3D printing make it easier and cheaper to create unique designs, even shapes that are hard to make by hand. Materials like polyamide, steel, and wax are often used.

Handmade jewellery, called artisan jewellery, is growing as a hobby and profession. Many people study jewellery design, especially in places like Australia. Some large and elaborate metal pieces are now called metal couture.

Masonic

Freemasons wear special pieces of jewellery called jewels on their collars when they are in a Lodge. These jewels show the special roles that members have in the Lodge. For example, a square shows that someone is the Master of the Lodge, and a dove shows that someone is the Deacon. Wearing these jewels also shows that someone belongs to a lodge. There are different kinds of jewels that can be worn on the chest or around the neck.

Types of masonic collar jewels

Jewel of Kosmopolis Lodge in Bratislava

Historic jewel of the german lodge "Lessing zu den 3 Ringen"

Jewel of the lodge "Zur Weltkugel" in Lübeck.

Body modification

Jewellery used in body modification can be simple or very dramatic. Small silver studs, rings, and earrings are common. Earrings are a type of body modification because they involve creating a small hole in the ear.

Women from the Padaung tribe in Myanmar wear large golden rings around their necks. Girls as young as five may start wearing their first neck ring, and more rings are added over the years. These rings can make the neck appear much longer. Other cultures, like the Innu and First Nations peoples in the Americas, also use jewellery to stretch or enlarge ear piercings.

In recent times, some people in Western cultures have started to adopt these body modification practices, blending them with decorative jewellery.

Jewellery market

The Asia Pacific region was the biggest part of the jewellery market in 2024, making up almost 40% of all jewellery sales around the world. In 2023, the whole jewellery market was worth about $353 billion and is expected to grow slowly each year.

In 2022, the jewellery market was worth around $270 billion and is expected to reach over $330 billion by 2026. The countries selling the most jewellery in 2022 were China, India, and the United States. India buys the most gold in the world, with demand going up in 2018.