Rings are so common now. I suspect not a lot of thought goes into their origin. It’s hard to say when the first rings were created, but in the 15th century they became a very important form of jewelry. Engraved gems, rings that could be used as seals and rings that contained religious relics were all popular.

Many of these rings were extremely ornate. Enamel, gemstones, and gold embellishments were the order of the day. Some of them had bezels that opened for carrying very small objects, or possibly a lock of hair. One of my reference books has a photograph of a matched pair of wedding rings from the 1500s- delicate bands with ornate gold wire worked into each piece.

Venice produced some of the most exquisite jewelry of that time, with filigree and extremely detailed workmanship common. It is a joy to see what our ancestors created for their customers, and how painstakingly they must have worked.

There is elegance in gold, silver and platinum jewelry. Maybe it’s the monotone sparkle, but through thousands of years these precious metals have been admired and thought beautiful. I would argue that the form of the piece is equally important. However, there is something fascinating about color in jewelry design .

Yes, there are brightly hued emeralds, crisp and gorgeous rubies, diamonds that sparkle in many rainbow colors- but what about the use of colored glass, heated and used to form enamel? This has been one of the most popular and inexpensive ways to create colored jewelry, and I’m glad today it’s as popular as ever.

I think jewelry can be fun. When we were kids, the little girls in the neighborhood had colorful plastic beads with a little nub on one end and a hole on the other so they could connect them together and make necklaces and bracelets.

When they were separated they made a satisfying “pop” sound, thus the name.

I doubt if pop beads are as popular as they once were, but I think they were a great introduction to fun art, and a great way to introduce little girls to the fun of creating their own jewelry!