Jewelry Lovers

Many people are fascinated with history. Whether it’s their own genealogical history, that of their town, or of ancient cultures across the world, many people want to feel a connection with the past. You can blend your jewelry-making hobby with an interest in history. Current trends in jewelry design use ancient components (like stones, beads, and pendants) and reset or restring them in modern setting so that they can be worn now. Imagine wearing a 3,000-year-old stone in a new setting.

If you want more inspiration for recreate the designs of the past, take a look at Creating Your Own Antique Jewelry: Taking Inspiration From Great Museums Around The World by Cris Dupouy. He gives you ideas on how to create beautiful pins, pendants, and other pieces in the style of past eras, primarily with polymer clay.

Tapping into ancient inspirations from Rome and Greece

In ancient times, jewelry was most often worn by women, although a man may have worn a single ring. And, as in many societies, the richer you were, the more jewelry you wore. Sometimes, stones and amulets were chosen to protect the wearer from everything from drunkenness (amethyst) to an invading enemy (onyx). Consider some jewelry that may have been worn then:

• Arm bands
• Bangle bracelets
• Cuff bracelets
• Hoop earrings
• Fibula (brooch pin)
• Large single stone rings
• Shorter beaded necklaces with and without pendants

If you want to recreate the feel of an era, choose a piece that someone may have worn during that time.

Several motifs, or recurring themes, make an appearance in ancient jewelry design, including a few on this list:

• Reminders of daily life, like pitchers and urns Animals, like lions and snakes
• Scrollwork

• Serpentine lines
• Waves

For a true feel of a particular time and place, use materials that would have been commonly used during the era you’re trying to mimic. Material for the Greeks and Romans include:

• Bronze

• Precious metals, like gold and silver
• Hammered metals
• Semi-precious gems like garnet, carnelian, amethyst, emerald, and pearls

Stones were often carved in relief, meaning that parts of the stone were removed to leave a particular image in the stone. The images were often of people, portraits, and profiles. They may have depicted the ruler who held the wearer’s allegiance, the god or goddess beloved by the wearer, or a scene of importance, like a betrothal.

Exploring Ancient Egyptian styling

Many Ancient Egyptians were lovers of jewelry. Most of their jewelry was truly symbolic, not just simple decoration. The pieces worn by an individual conveyed the wearer’s status in the community and served as an identifier in the afterlife. Ancient Egyptians were the first known wearers of charm bracelets, designed to identify their achievements, activities, professions, and families.

Common Ancient Egyptian motifs include:

• Pharaonic images, like the profile of Nefertiti, or a sarcophagus.
• Various gods and goddesses, including Isis, Horus, and Anubis.
• Scarabs, 3-D carvings of a dung beetle symbolizing creation, power, and rebirth.
• Ankhs, the ancient symbol of life.

Hieroglyphics, ancient Egyptian picture writing.

Ancient Egyptians probably wore more gold than silver, because gold was much more available to them at that time. They loved deep blue lapis lazuli, rich turquoise, and black onyx. They often wore strands of long stone tube beads paired with monotone flat rounds. In this case, the shape, rather than the color, provided the contrast. They loved individual inlaid stones, with a blending of their favorite colors.

Pair Egyptian motifs with their colored stones for an Ancient Egyptian- inspired piece.

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