The Evolution of Jewelry

The Evolution of Jewelry in Europe and the Middle East

• The oldest gold jewelry in the world was discovered in Europe, at the site of Varna Necropolis, near the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria, which dates back to 4,600 BC to 4,200 BC.
• Mesopotamia was one of the earliest civilizations where jewelry-making became a significant craft, and the most significant archaeological evidence comes from the Royal Cemetery of Ur, where hundreds of burials dating 2900–2300 BC were unearthed.
• Jewellery in Mesopotamia was made from thin metal leaf and was set with large numbers of brightly colored stones, and goldsmiths used a wide variety of sophisticated metalworking techniques such as cloisonné, engraving, fine granulation, and filigree.
• The Greeks started using gold and gems in jewelry in 1600 BC, and the forms and shapes of jewelry in ancient Greece varied widely since the Bronze Age.
• Jewelry in Greece was hardly worn and was mostly used for public appearances or on special occasions, and it was frequently given as a gift and was predominantly worn by women to show their wealth, social status, and beauty.
• The Celts and Merovingians are noted for their jewelry, which in terms of quality matched or exceeded that of the Byzantine Empire.
• The Eastern successor of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, continued many of the methods of the Romans, though religious themes came to predominate, and Byzantine jewelry was worn by wealthier females.
• By the 17th century, increasing exploration and trade led to increased availability of a wide variety of gemstones as well as exposure to the art of other cultures, and this period saw increasing dominance of gemstones and their settings.
• When Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned as Emperor of the French in 1804, he revived the style and grandeur of jewelry and fashion in France, and under Napoleon's rule, jewelers introduced parures, suites of matching jewelry.
• Romanticism had a profound impact on the development of western jewelry, and changing social conditions and the onset of the Industrial Revolution led to growth of a middle class that wanted and could afford jewelry.
• In the United States, this period saw the founding in 1837 of Tiffany & Co. by Charles Lewis Tiffany, and in France, Pierre Cartier founded Cartier SA in 1847, while 1884 saw the founding of Bulgari in Italy.
• The modern production studio had been born and was a step away from the former dominance of individual craftsmen and patronage.
• The period also saw the first major collaboration between East and West, and perhaps the grand finalé were the masterful creations of the Russian artist Peter Carl Fabergé, working for the Imperial Russian court.