Man has always wanted to adorn himself in one way or another and history shows us this in the crude form of jewellery that has been found in ancient graves, burial mounds and from other ancient finds.
Some of the oldest examples of jewellery found were created from materials like shell, bone, ivory and polished stones and it is believed that these were not just worn as adornments but they were also thought to have magical properties.
As years went by man discovered precious and semi-precious stones and they learnt how to cut and polish these to bring out all their beauty and brilliance and these were used more and more to create pieces of unique and unusual jewellery.
Because these stones were at that time hard to find and very rare they were expensive and could only be afforded by Royalty and the rich and these semi-precious jewellery designs were not only worn for their beauty but also to flaunt peoples wealth and status in society. When we look back at old portraits we can see the rich and famous of the past wearing very expensive pieces of jewellery that have these semi-precious gemstones set into precious metals like gold and platinum.
Today because of modern mining methods and the fact that many of these semi-precious stones are now more readily available to use we can see find wonderful pieces of unique and original jewellery at affordable prices and stones that were only available to Royalty are now in shops on the high street set into pieces like earrings, bracelets, rings, pendants and necklaces.
Jade used to be the Royal stone of the Chinese but today anyone can be seen wearing this beautiful stone and it will come to use in many shades of green and it is becoming very fashionable. You are still able to buy antique pieces that are very expensive but you can now find designs set with this ounce Royal stone in many of the jewellery stores in the town and on-line stores.
Black Onyx is a stunning stone that is used to create semi-precious jewellery designs and you can see many women wearing elegant and stylish black necklaces and these are a must to have in your jewellery box as it is to have a little black dress in your wardrobe. The collections will include earrings, bracelets, pendants, rings and necklaces and this beautiful highly polished Black Onyx looks beautiful when it is set into sterling silver. If it is black designs that you are looking for have a look at the collections of Whitby Jet jewellery that are available because there are some of the most beautiful designs and this stone became popular during the Victorian era when it was a favourite of Queen Victoria.
Turquoise is perfect if you are looking for blue jewellery designs as this semi-precious with its lovely natural sky blue colours and if you would like designs in a deeper blue colour then Lapis Lazuli is perfect for this. Other blue semi-precious stones you can find are the lovely duck egg blue coloured Amazonite that comes from Russia and Sodalite, with all of these beautiful natural stones you are able to create unique and unusual pieces of handmade jewellery
This site has many pieces of beautiful semi-precious jewellery crafted from lots of different stones like black necklace sold here are handmade from Black Onyx. Jade necklace designs in unique and original styles and all handmade in the UK Earrings in unique designs, bracelets, necklaces and pendant all handcrafted in the UK. This collection of unususal handcrafted jewellery designs is foreer growing and changing
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