Jewellery

Jewellery or jewelry (/ˈdʒuːᵊlᵊri/) consists of small decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes, and the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal, often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as shells and other plant materials may be used. It is one of the oldest type of archaeological artefact – with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the Jewellery or jewelry (/ˈdʒuːᵊlᵊri/) consists of small decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes, and the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal, often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as shells and other plant materials may be used. It is one of the oldest type of archaeological artefact – with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the oldest known jewellery. The basic forms of jewellery vary between cultures but are often extremely long-lived; in European cultures the most common forms of jewellery listed above have persisted since ancient times, while other forms such as adornments for the nose or ankle, important in other cultures, are much less common. Historically, the most widespread influence on jewellery in terms of design and style have come from Asia.

Jewellery may be made from a wide range of materials. Gemstones and similar materials such as amber and coral, precious metals, beads, and shells have been widely used, and enamel has often been important. In most cultures jewellery can be understood as a status symbol, for its material properties, its patterns, or for meaningful symbols. Jewellery has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings, and even genital jewellery. The patterns of wearing jewellery between the sexes, and by children and older people can vary greatly between cultures, but adult women have been the most consistent wearers of jewellery; in modern European culture the amount worn by adult males is relatively low compared with other cultures and other periods in European culture.

The word jewellery itself is derived from the word jewel, which was anglicized from the Old French "jouel", and beyond that, to the Latin word "jocale", meaning plaything. In British English, Indian English, New Zealand English, Hiberno-English, Australian English, and South African English it is spelled jewellery, while the spelling is jewelry in American English. Both are used in Canadian English, though jewelry prevails by a two to one margin. In French and a few other European languages the equivalent term, joaillerie there, may also cover decorated metalwork in precious metal such as objets d'art and church items, not just objects worn on the person.

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Jewellery Books

Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World

The Complete Metalsmith: An Illustrated Handbook

Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box

The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques

Steampunk Style Jewelry: Victorian, Fantasy, and Mechanical Necklaces, Bracelets, and Earrings

Making Bead & Wire Jewelry: Simple Techniques, Stunning Designs

Jewelry: From Antiquity to the Present (World of Art)

The Complete Jewelry Making Course: Principles, Practice and Techniques: A Beginner's Course for Aspiring Jewelry Makers

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Lists

Complete Photo Guide to Making Metal Jewelry by John Sartin

Best Jewelry and Metalsmithing Books

35 books — 13 voters

Avedon Fashion 1944-2000 by Carol Squiers

T-Shirts, Purses, Corsets, Panties, Hats, Glasses, Gloves, Jewelry, Uniforms, Shoes, Brassieres, Boutiques, And Fashions Unique

179 books — 28 voters

Virtuoso Goldsmiths and the Triumph of Mannerism 1540-1620 by J.F. Hayward

Heroic Armor of the Italian Renaissance Filippo Negroli and H... by Stuart W. Pyhrr

Guido Mocafico & Victoire de Castellane by Eric Troncy

•One-Eyed Willie's Marble Sack

102 books — 2 voters

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Night Night, Sleep Tight by Hallie Ephron

Pearls on the Cover

126 books — 17 voters

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

Magic Jewelry: Rings, Necklaces, Bracelets, Diadems, etc.

133 books — 5 voters

52 Book Club 2024: Summer Mini Challenge - Rings: Jewelry On The Cover

110 books — 18 voters

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Quotes Tagged “Jewellery”

“ String several words together in a sentence and you have a language necklace. My I love you would look great with your favorite red dress. ”
― Jarod Kintz, There are Two Typos of People in This World: Those Who Can Edit and Those Who Can't

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“ The pearl is the favorite of those who are surfeited with jewels. One may become tired of the diamond's splendor, but those who learn to appreciate the unobtrusive loveliness of the pearl seldom lose their fondness for them which is develops. It is the one gem which does not satiate. ...more ”
― Wallis Richard Cattelle, The pearl

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