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 out there - at times seashells on a string, fish bones or even animal claws. The documented examples of "jewelry" can be dated back to about 20,000 BC. Man made use of whatever might make him stand out. We are not much various - only our obtainable ornaments are a lot improved and much more diverse.
Jewelry has had a lot of roles all through the years - throughout the a number of periods it has consistently been made use of to establish a certain stature in society. It has also been employed as religious offerings, decorations for the church and clergy, certain stones have been deemed in a position to ward off disease and ill fortune. Jewelry has played a number of roles throughout mankind's existence. Fairly honestly, it nonetheless does. What young executive on the rise does not want to sport a Rolex or other show of good results? Yes, jewelry nonetheless plays a major component in our society and will continue to do so.
The history of "costume" jewelry - History of a large number of sources credit Coco Chanel (born in 1883 as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel) as being the 1st to introduce costume jewelry as an acceptable accessory. In 1910 she opened a hat shop (in France) and in 1913 she began designing and creating dresses. In 1919, she opened a fashion residence where a lady could go and be decked out from head to foot with clothing and all accessories - such as "actual" and wonderful costume jewelry! This great lady also developed and released her ever common Chanel No. five Perfume in @1923. When World War II was imminent - she retired (@1939) but came out of retirement in 1954 to once once again dominant the fashion world. She left us a terrific legacy when she passed in 1971.
A large number of years ago the Ziegfield Follies was an extraordinary show. Acts and ladies attired in costumes glittering in rhinestones parading about (a lot like what you would expect to see now at a Los Vegas Show). The use of these highly decorated costumes and accessories did wonders for the acceptance of glittery jewelry. As the demand for new and superior costumes grew - it helped quite a few jewelry corporations flourish and grow. My research tells me that Hobe was a key contributor and supplier for the Follies. It was a great selection - Hobe created and manufactured some outstanding piePrior to this development - costume jewelry was mostly identified as fake or imitation jewelry. The people designing and selling had been not deemed true craftsmen. The Follies helped the business acquire a certain amount of acceptance.
In all probability the biggest key development was Hollywood. As significantly more and alot more stars began wearing these extravagant pieces in their films - the average person created a desire for them. The developments in manufacturing costume jewelry had made it much cheaper and cost-effective for the typical individual now. You could go to the movies and see your favorite star and leave the movie residence and head to the department store and purchase a comparable piece. You too could look just like Elizabeth Taylor! Properly, virtually appear like Elizabeth Taylor.
Back for the duration of these time periods - the typical person was not nicely traveled. A lot of in no way traveled more than a hundred miles from exactly where they had been born but - we had Hollywood and the movies to show us what was stylish. We could see what the attractive persons had been wearing and we wanted to be beautiful folks too!
Costume jewelry was created a large number of years ago. Originally, it was still hand made - quite often 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 fairly quickly. Silver, copper and bronze metals had been also used during this era.
In the era of kingdoms and holding court - a particular standard of opulence was expected. Gems had been extremely 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 create these pieces for a fraction of the cost of real gems. Traveling with quite beneficial jewelry was not a decent idea. The distance between kingdoms was normally long and treacherous.
The story of Robin Hood comes to thoughts. I don't feel there was a lot of giving to the poor going on but I do believe a rich, gold and jewelry laden coach and entourage may discover themselves suddenly 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 still had to project a specific image - an industry was born! This jewelry was nonetheless nicely produced, nonetheless stunning and commonly occasions was a lot additional labor intensive for the reason that of fashioning and working the raw supplies into a shiny replica of the original.
As discussed earlier - accurate gems had been pricey and challenging to acquire. An option was necessary. How to imitate the luster and brilliance of fine diamonds and gems? Finally, 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 had been spent on these new gems but labor was inexpensive and various a cottage business supplemented their meager incomes by producing these simulated treasures.
This method or "paste" was perfected by George Strass (1701 -1773). Mr. Strass developed a glittering paste made from ground lead glass, potassium and other additives that could be used to replicate different transparent stones. This mixture brought a specific brilliance and capability to refract the accessible light not noticed ahead of in simulated gems! He also developed formulas (by adding metal oxides and particular salts) to produce the distinctive colors needed to simulate lots of of the other uncommon and useful gemstones of the day. In honor of Mr. Strass - this approach and resulting replicas had been sometimes known as "Strass" or "Strass Glass". This was surely a milestone in the history of our present day treasures.
My favorite contributor to the evolvement of our modern day costume jewelry was/is Daniel Swarovski. Mister Swarovski was born in Austria and into the "organization". He followed his father in this trade but he was not content material with the slow tedious process of producing these stones. Immediately after just about a decade of study and trial and error - Daniel managed to generate a machine that could cut this crystal (leaded glass) with alot more accuracy and precision than local craftsman could ever hope to accomplish. A amazing side benefit was that not only could these stones be cut a lot more precisely but also could be produced far more rapidly.
Instead of days or even weeks to make the very best feasible stone - it could be reduced into a matter of minutes or much less! Daniel Swarovski had made a important accomplishment but but he was not satisfied. He was still dependent on suppliers for high quality crystal for his approach so - he began to experiment and lastly created his own recipe for fine crystal glass that had a incredibly high lead content material. This certain recipe seemed to give the great facet and refraction combination.
What else could 1 man possibly do to revolutionize his industry? What else was left? Well, there was 1 thing that bogged the method down fairly a bit. The stones were created at what was regarded lightening speed but - fairly regularly these new stones had to have a foil backing applied. Here comes the bottleneck. What does it matter if you can produce a thousand stones a day but can only apply backing to fifty? So, here comes Daniel Swarovski to the forefront when even more.
He developed a signifies and approach to vacuum plate the back of his stones with foil by machine thereby eliminating a further costly and time consuming step in the production of his superior stones. Daniel could now create lots of stones all in 1 procedure! Seldom has any 1 individual performed so considerably for his chosen field and I do have a excellent admiration for his skills and ingenuity.
Swarovski stones are widely employed here in the US and dominate the industry. You may also hear them referred to as Austrian Crystals. His legacy nonetheless lives on and the firm is alive and flourishing. In 1985, they began producing their own creations and promoting them. At the moment, their designer marking is a swan and I suspect they will turn into very collectable. We have the great fortune to have numerous pieces and they are a delight.
In @1953 - the process for making the ever well known aurora borealis rhinestones was perfected. They are quite often abbreviated and called basically AB stones. This name is credited for the stones resemblance to the awesome Northern Lights displays. I can not disagree with the analogy - basically stunning! This stone has had a incredibly thin metal coating applied to the surface and this has an outstanding impact. Just about holographic, the stone changes color as the light adjustments or movement occurs. History credits this development to guess which enterprise? Swarovski of course, with help duly noted from Christian Dior. These stones are widely utilized for some awesome outcomes.
In 1954 - the copyright law for/applying to costume jewelry designs was passed. This was a key event in that it gave not only certain rights to the jewelry businesses but also lent a certain 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 one example - of course it may well vary according to the post, style and time frame. Numerous years ago a designer came up with the idea. He painstakingly drew it out and then decided what stones and color he believed preferred. After a large number 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 occur. They would invest hours on finish crafting this original mold or model. Then, following 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.
Once this step was satisfactorily completed - then the piece was prepared for it's plating or finish. Often, a decent copper plating was applied for a sealant and bonding agent. Next, nickel plating was performed for that smooth, shiny surface. Lastly, just after all this - we have to start the electroplating procedure where the final coating of gold, silver or rhodium was delivered.
Electroplating is the approach of putting a metallic coating on a metal or other conducting surface by working with an electric existing. It is intended to boost 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 answer of the metal with which you desire to coat or plate the item. The metal in solution exists in the form of positive ions which are atoms that have lost one or significantly 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 another conductor which is also placed in the remedy.
The current flowing via 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, soon after each approach the item have 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 were prong set, glued, dogtooth set, bezel set or even caged. Generally, a piece could have many kinds of settings. Fairly a trip for what rather regularly is nonetheless called fake jewelry!
We hope you enjoyed this article and will soon be publishing additional on our passion - vintage costume jewelry. We invite you to pay a visit to our site for a lot more info on how to acquire these marvelous pieces of art at yard sales, donation centers and elsewhere - how to care for and properly store - how to date your treasures and significantly much more. Come go to us and share our passion at:
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