The history of jewelry - All through time - man (and woman) has sought to make themselves stand out from the crowd. Even animals will preen and parade around in a mating ritual. It is a natural occurrence for each man and beast.
Early man decorated himself with whatever on the market - from time to time seashells on a string, fish bones or even animal claws. The documented examples of "jewelry" can be dated back to around 20,000 BC. Man made use of whatever may well make him stand out. We are not a lot distinct - only our out there ornaments are significantly much better and additional diverse.
Jewelry has had numerous roles all through the years - through the several periods it has always been utilised to establish a certain stature in society. It has also been applied as religious offerings, decorations for the church and clergy, particular stones have been deemed able to ward off illness and ill fortune. Jewelry has played a large number of roles throughout mankind's existence. Fairly honestly, it still does. What young executive on the rise does not want to sport a Rolex or other show of good results? Yes, jewelry still plays a main component in our society and will continue to do so.
The history of "costume" jewelry - History of countless sources credit Coco Chanel (born in 1883 as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel) as becoming the very first to introduce costume jewelry as an acceptable accessory. In 1910 she opened a hat shop (in France) and in 1913 she began designing and producing dresses. In 1919, she opened a fashion property exactly where a lady could possibly go and be decked out from head to foot with clothing and all accessories - including "actual" and spectacular costume jewelry! This excellent lady also created and released her ever widely used Chanel No. 5 Perfume in @1923. When Globe War II was imminent - she retired (@1939) but came out of retirement in 1954 to when again dominant the fashion globe. She left us a splendid legacy when she passed in 1971.
A number of years ago the Ziegfield Follies was an extraordinary show. Acts and ladies attired in costumes glittering in rhinestones parading around (a lot like what you would anticipate to see now at a Los Vegas Show). The use of these very decorated costumes and accessories did wonders for the acceptance of glittery jewelry. As the demand for new and superior costumes grew - it helped a few jewelry providers flourish and grow. My research tells me that Hobe was a key contributor and supplier for the Follies. It was a excellent selection - Hobe designed and manufactured some outstanding piePrior to this development - costume jewelry was mainly known as fake or imitation jewelry. The men and women designing and selling had been not deemed correct craftsmen. The Follies helped the market acquire a certain amount of acceptance.
In all probability the largest key development was Hollywood. As far more and more stars began wearing these extravagant pieces in their films - the average person developed a desire for them. The developments in manufacturing costume jewelry had created it considerably less expensive and reasonably priced for the average person now. You could go to the movies and see your preferred star and leave the movie residence and head to the department store and purchase a comparable piece. You too could appear just like Elizabeth Taylor! Nicely, nearly look like Elizabeth Taylor.
Back in the course of these time periods - the average individual was not properly traveled. Many never traveled over a hundred miles from exactly where they were born but - we had Hollywood and the movies to show us what was stylish. We could see what the attractive consumers had been wearing and we wanted to be fabulous individuals too!
Costume jewelry was developed a large number of years ago. Originally, it was still hand created - typically times nonetheless set in gold. The only distinction would be the stones or jewels. As far back in time as 3500 BC - craftsmen found that gold could be heated, hammered and shaped pretty effortlessly. Silver, copper and bronze metals were also used through this era.
In the era of kingdoms and holding court - a specific standard of opulence was expected. Gems were particularly costly! Labor was not a concern. If it took weeks to fashion a stone by hand - then so be it. Jewelers could be commissioned to generate these pieces for a fraction of the cost of real gems. Traveling with incredibly useful jewelry was not a excellent idea. The distance among kingdoms was quite often long and treacherous.
The story of Robin Hood comes to thoughts. I do not believe there was a lot of giving to the poor going on but I do think a rich, gold and jewelry laden coach and entourage may possibly discover themselves all of a sudden surrounded by robbers and stripped of their valuables. Hence, the courtiers still needed the flashy accessories demanded by their station but who could afford to replenish such expensive treasures?
Poor kingdoms that could not afford actual gems nonetheless had to project a certain image - an market was born! This jewelry was nonetheless properly made, still fabulous and quite often times was much extra labor intensive considering of fashioning and operating the raw materials into a shiny replica of the original.
As discussed earlier - accurate gems had been high-priced and hard to acquire. An option was necessary. How to imitate the luster and brilliance of fine diamonds and gems? Lastly, a process was developed exactly where glass was ground down into a powder. It could then be colored to simulate other gems or left uncolored to for the diamond impact. It was then placed in a mold and the kiln fired. The hardened "paste" could then be cut and shaped and polished into an acceptable replica.
Numerous hours were spent on these new gems but labor was affordable and lots of a cottage industry supplemented their meager incomes by producing these simulated treasures.
This technique or "paste" was perfected by George Strass (1701 -1773). Mr. Strass created a glittering paste produced from ground lead glass, potassium and other additives that could be made use of to replicate distinctive transparent stones. This mixture brought a certain brilliance and capability to refract the offered light not seen prior to in simulated gems! He also developed formulas (by adding metal oxides and certain salts) to generate the unique colors necessary to simulate a number of of the other rare and valuable gemstones of the day. In honor of Mr. Strass - this strategy and resulting replicas had been normally called "Strass" or "Strass Glass". This was surely a milestone in the history of our present day treasures.
My preferred contributor to the evolvement of our modern day costume jewelry was/is Daniel Swarovski. Mister Swarovski was born in Austria and into the "business". He followed his father in this trade but he was not content with the slow tedious procedure of creating these stones. After practically a decade of research and trial and error - Daniel managed to produce a machine that could cut this crystal (leaded glass) with additional accuracy and precision than neighborhood craftsman could ever hope to attain. A great side benefit was that not only could these stones be cut much more precisely but also could be produced far quicker.
Rather of days or even weeks to generate the best possible stone - it could be reduced into a matter of minutes or much less! Daniel Swarovski had produced a main accomplishment but however he was not satisfied. He was nonetheless dependent on suppliers for excellent crystal for his process so - he began to experiment and lastly created his own recipe for fine crystal glass that had a rather high lead content material. This particular recipe seemed to give the great facet and refraction mixture.
What else could one man possibly do to revolutionize his business? What else was left? Well, there was one thing that bogged the procedure down very a bit. The stones had been created at what was regarded lightening speed but - quite often these new stones had to have a foil backing applied. Here comes the bottleneck. What does it matter if you can create a thousand stones a day but can only apply backing to fifty? So, here comes Daniel Swarovski to the forefront when significantly more.
He developed a means and approach to vacuum plate the back of his stones with foil by machine thereby eliminating another pricey and time consuming step in the production of his superior stones. Daniel could now produce countless stones all in 1 method! Seldom has any 1 person completed so much for his chosen field and I do have a amazing admiration for his abilities and ingenuity.
Swarovski stones are widely utilized here in the US and dominate the marketplace. You may possibly also hear them referred to as Austrian Crystals. His legacy still lives on and the enterprise is alive and flourishing. In 1985, they began producing their own creations and advertising them. At present, their designer marking is a swan and I suspect they will turn into very collectable. We have the great fortune to have various pieces and they are a delight.
In @1953 - the procedure for generating the ever common aurora borealis rhinestones was perfected. They are usually abbreviated and called simply AB stones. This name is credited for the stones resemblance to the amazing Northern Lights displays. I can't disagree with the analogy - simply wonderful! This stone has had a quite thin metal coating applied to the surface and this has an outstanding impact. Just about holographic, the stone adjustments color as the light adjustments or movement happens. History credits this development to guess which business? Swarovski of course, with help duly noted from Christian Dior. These stones are widely utilized for some amazing results.
In 1954 - the copyright law for/applying to costume jewelry styles was passed. This was a key event in that it gave not only certain rights to the jewelry organizations but also lent a specific validation to their products and efforts. No longer was costume jewelry an also ran but a thriving market with all the rights and recognition of any market. Costume jewelry has officially arrived!
The birth of your vintage jewelry - What had to take place for this lovely piece of art you now have in your possession to arrive? Here is 1 example - of course it might vary according to the write-up, style and time frame. Many years ago a designer came up with the thought. He painstakingly drew it out and then decided what stones and color he believed finest. After a lot of hours of checking and comparing - he would finish his final drawing. Then the drawing and specifications would go to the craftsmen that would seek to make it happen. They would devote hours on finish crafting this original mold or model. Then, after they and the designer was satisfied - the mold was poured with a base metal. Then the molded piece was removed and trimmed of any excess metal and hand polished and buffed to a shiny creation.
When this step was satisfactorily completed - then the piece was ready for it's plating or finish. Often, a wonderful copper plating was applied for a sealant and bonding agent. Next, nickel plating was accomplished for that smooth, shiny surface. Lastly, soon after all this - we need to start the electroplating approach where the final coating of gold, silver or rhodium was delivered.
Electroplating is the process of putting a metallic coating on a metal or other conducting surface by using an electric existing. It is intended to improve the look of materials and for protection against corrosion. The item to be plated is thoroughly cleaned by dipping it in acid and alkaline cleaning solutions. Then put in a resolution of the metal with which you desire to coat or plate the item. The metal in remedy exists in the form of positive ions which are atoms that have lost one or alot more electrons. The item is then connected to the cathode or negative end of a source of the electric present. The anode or positive electric terminal or end is then connected to yet another conductor which is also placed in the remedy.
The current flowing through acts on the metallic ions in the resolution. The ions are attracted to the cathode side, and the coating is deposited on the item's metallic surface. Of course, just after every single approach the item need to be cleaned and polished. At last, the piece is sent to the stone setter exactly where he would hand set the stones. Of course, this would differ in difficulty depending on whether the stones had been prong set, glued, dogtooth set, bezel set or even caged. Commonly, a piece might have various sorts of settings. Pretty a trip for what quite frequently is nonetheless called fake jewelry!
We hope you enjoyed this article and will soon be publishing far more on our passion - vintage costume jewelry. We invite you to pay a visit to our web page for a lot more details on how to locate these amazing pieces of art at yard sales, donation centers and elsewhere - how to care for and properly store - how to date your treasures and significantly a great deal more. Come visit us and share our passion at:
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