Samuel” and “Helps you say it better” are trade marks of Signet or its licensors. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be jewellery for valentines day oldest known jewellery. Jewellery may be made from a wide range of materials.

The word jewellery itself is derived from the word jewel, which was anglicised from the Old French “jouel”, and beyond that, to the Latin word “jocale”, meaning plaything. A gold, diamonds and sapphires red guilloché enamel “Boule de Genève”, a type of pendant watch used as an accessory for women. Most cultures at some point have had a practice of keeping large amounts of wealth stored in the form of jewellery. Numerous cultures store wedding dowries in the form of jewellery or make jewellery as a means to store or display coins. Alternatively, jewellery has been used as a currency or trade good.

Many items of jewellery, such as brooches and buckles, originated as purely functional items, but evolved into decorative items as their functional requirement diminished. Wearing of amulets and devotional medals to provide protection or to ward off evil is common in some cultures. In creating jewellery, gemstones, coins, or other precious items are often used, and they are typically set into precious metals. The silver used in jewellery is usually sterling silver, or 92. Beads are frequently used in jewellery. These may be made of glass, gemstones, metal, wood, shells, clay and polymer clay. Diamonds were first mined in India.

Pliny may have mentioned them, although there is some debate as to the exact nature of the stone he referred to as Adamas. Now popular in engagement rings, this usage dates back to the marriage of Maximilian I to Mary of Burgundy in 1477. A popular style is the diamond solitaire, which features a single large diamond mounted prominently. Within solitaire, there are 3 categories in which a ring can be classified into: prong, bezel and tension setting.

Many precious and semiprecious stones are used for jewellery. Amber Amber, an ancient organic gemstone, is composed of tree resin that has hardened over time. The stone must be at least one million years old to be classified as amber, and some amber can be up to 120 million years old. Some gems, for example, amethyst, have become less valued as methods of extracting and importing them have progressed. Some man-made gems can serve in place of natural gems, such as cubic zirconia, which can be used in place of diamond. An example of gold plated jewellery. For platinum, gold, and silver jewellery, there are many techniques to create finishes.