Men wear jewelry, have for a long time. But Henry VIII was the epitome of male adornment. He wore more jewelry than any of his 6 wives did, possibly more than all of them put together. He had whole suits of clothing that encompassed peals and jewels, sewn right into the fabric.

King Henry is thought of as a manly man (if possibly a tad off his rocker) but nonetheless he was a man that enjoyed the beauty of the gemstone. Even his feathered hat is adorned with jewels. In the famous portrait by Hans Holbein, the good king is depicted broad-shouldered and proud, displaying his fantastic parure, which means “suite of matching jewelry.”

That must have been a heavy outfit, but Henry was a fellow who could carry it off.

In the 20th century, some very famous artists decided to try their hand at jewelry making.
Most of these pieces were rather avant garde, such as the brooches crafted by Max Ernst and Salvador Dali.

The Dali brooch I’m familiar with is called “The Gold Cube Cross”, a remarkable piece rather hard to describe. It does involve a cross and some other sculptured jewels in a sort of spiked starburst. It is really quite lovely.

Perhaps it is these creative artists that began the modern interest in jewelry as wearable art. Some of our more modern artists are creating pieces that seem to shine with glorious personality and meaning, many of which can be seen in galleries both here and abroad.

In the 1920s and 30s there was an art explosion. If you’re a fan of deco jewelry, you will recognize it anywhere. The simple angles and fanciful designs were almost Egyptian in nature. And no small wonder; current to the time discoveries of ancient artifacts in Egypt helped inspire the deco movement.

Precious stones were sometimes used in deco pieces; one especially gorgeous design was by the firm of Linzeler and Marchak- a lady’s wrist watch decorated with enamel, emeralds and diamonds.

In the 20s, the flapper fashions called for long necklaces that reached below the waist. Some of these were also made of precious jewels, although the common girl was more likely to wear something created in one of the “modern” plastics, like baklite.

Some of the most colorful, marvelous jewelry was created during the years of the Renaissance.

Not just one type of gemstone, but several would be gathered together in a bright and playful concoction. A single necklace might include emeralds, rubies, sapphires, enamel work and pearls. Diamonds were used frequently, but gem cutters hadn’t figured out how to cut them yet, so they often appeared in their natural state, ground down a bit and polished.

This was the beginning of this gemstone’s importance in the world of fine jewelry making.

Plastic has been around for longer than most people realize. In the late 1800s various scientists were experimenting with chemicals of plant and animal origin and coming up with partially synthetic substances that were the forerunners of today’s plastic.

One of the early uses was in jewelry making! Bakelite was one of the more popular of the early plastics used for this purpose. There were some gorgeous designs popular in the Roaring 20s. Bright, bold colorful bracelets were happily worn by the flappers of that era. They weren’t expensive pieces (not then, anyway!) so most young working women could afford them.

Today, these vintage beauties are somewhat difficult to find, and when discovered are certainly not cheap!

In 17th century jewelry making coral enjoyed great popularity. Undoubtedly it was an easily available material for jewelry making long before that, but it is interesting that by the 1600s it was loved almost as much as diamonds were.

In ancient times it was exported from the Mediterranean as well as from China and India. At that time, and up until the 18th century people believed that it was a sea plant, not an animal.

Red or pink coral was lovely with the color schemes popular in late Renaissance jewelry, all the way through the 19th century. Sometimes it was combined in a piece of jewelry with gold, pearls and other precious and semi-precious stones and metals.

Gold has long been reminiscent of the glory of the sun. It was a natural fit for the Incan ancients that worked with this lustrous metal, as well as the ancient Egyptians goldsmiths who created the stunning work that is still being unearthed.

It is so soft a metal and so malleable that it’s been said that one ounce of gold could be stretched to a thin wire 50 miles long. This must have been so inviting to primitive people with few tools. Much early gold work was hammered out, creating wonderful pieces of gold jewelry that astound us to this very day with their beauty.

The basic gold jewelry casting methods developed in ancient Egypt are still being used today!