The history of handmade jewellery is fascinating and these unusual designs can be seen as playing a part in our culture from The Elizabethan era up until the present day.
It can be fun, it can be stylish and elegant and it can be an enjoyable piece of art that can be worn and enjoyed both with the wearer and those who see it worn.
We are talking about handmade jewellery and almost forever jewellery has been a part of our lives. The wearing of these pieces can be traced as far back as the ancient Greeks and Romans and the beginning of history. In museums you can see the evidence of these stunning works of art, large broche clips that were used to hold their cloaks. Cuffs crafted from precious metals studded with precious gems. Large head pieces that the women wore can be seen set with Mother of Pearl showing how affluent these civilisations were.
Throughout the ages handmade jewellery has been very popular and this can be seen in Elizabethan England. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth the first unusual jewellery was worn by both men and women. Cameos were the fashion of the day, these were hand carved and used silhouettes as the inspiration for their designs. This is the era when people first had their ears pierced to wear the stunning earrings that were becoming vogue. The jewellery artisans looked to nature for their unusual designs incorporating leaves, flowers, birds and animals in the stunning designs. Portraits of both men and women of this time can be seen wearing many strings of pearls and this seemed to be the mode of necklace jewellery of the time.
Precious jewellery that have been works of art have always been a part of our culture but what we now call handmade jewellery has been a part of the fashion scene for around 80 years and now every woman owns a piece be it a pair of earrings, necklace jewellery or a bangle. Watches can come into the CatID of handmade jewellery.
It is in the mid 1830’s around the coronation of Queen Victoria that the mass production of handmade jewellery started to become popular. This Royal majesty had a love of unusual jewellery and collected a large collection of necklace jewellery, earrings, brooches and bracelets and this set a fashion trend. After the death of her beloved husband Albert Queen Victoria went into mourning and this is when the fashion for unusual jewellery to be crafted from jet and some stunning designs can still be found from this time.
With the death of the Queen the end of the Victorian age came and we entered the Edwardian age. This time gave use Art Nouveau were the designs were simpler with fluid lines and pieces of unusual jewellery were handmade from cheaper materials, the artisans moving away from precious metals like gold and platinum and precious stones and started to combine semi-precious beads with silver.
Now today what we commonly call the modern era the handmade jewellery is available to use in every style we could imagine. Earrings from simple stud designs to long chandeliers, necklace jewellery that has short funky chokers, or long strings of bright coloured glass beads, bracelets, that have been carved from wood of chain bracelets dripping in charms.
On the market there is something available for every taste and to suit ever purse. If you are looking for something modern and youthful crafted from silver you will be able to find these both in large high street stores and small independent boutiques. Fun and funky designs in bright colours fashioned from wooden beads strung with leather, necklace jewellery that has the elegance of the cat walk.
The history of handmade jewellery is fascinating and the story has not yet finished
We all love the finer things in live but to many of us precious pieces of unusual jewellery our out of our price range. This is why it is good that in the past 80 years handmade jewellery has become more popular so we now have the choice of stunning handcrafted bracelet designs, unusual earrings made by hand, necklace jewellery and watches to choice from in the designs and at the price we want.
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