Jewellery, History, and all that Silver

As a bit of a history buff, I've always found the connection between jewellery and the past to be fascinating.

Many of the techniques jewellers use today are the same methods that someone would have used hundreds of years ago to gain the same result.

It intrigues me when I'm using a hammer to add texture to silver, or a saw to pierce out a design, that the tools work on the same principles now as they did in the past. 

And I'm very aware of how much easier it is now to use those tools when I'm soldering with a flame that comes from a simple gas-fed torch, rather than having to control the heat output by using a mouth blowpipe, as shown in some of the images in this article.

Creating jewellery provides a living connection to the past, and it always increases my respect for the makers of ancient pieces of jewellery, dug out of fields (and here) or from underneath car parks.

Browsing through images of jewellery, from all eras of history, provides ideas for things I can (attempt to) create myself. It also means I can easily justify watching costume dramas on film and TV, like Wolf Hall, on the basis they're useful for inspiration and not just self-indulgent escapism for a history-junkie...

So this infographic, create by Lois Jewellery, caught my eye and imagination. It handily summarises the main eras of Western history and the jewellery that was created in them. Hope you enjoy reading it!

Throughout human history, jewellery has existed as a form of expression, wealth and social status. Take a look at this visual and take a trip through the history of Jewellery, starting with the evolution of jewellery in the ancient world, all the way through to modern day jewellery tof today.

Credit to Lois Jewellery for creating this visual.