FASCINATING WORLD OF JEWELRY- PART III
By the mid-17th century, changes in fashion had introduced new styles of jewellery. While dark fabrics required elaborate gold jewellery, the new softer pastel shades became graceful backdrops for gemstones and pearls.
Naturalistic jewellery, decorated with clearly recognisable flowers and fruit, was popular in the 19th century. By the 1850s the delicate early designs had given way to more extravagant and complex compositions of flowers and foliage. The colours in nature were matched by coloured gemstones, and a ‘language of flowers spelt out special messages.
The end of the previous century had seen the development of the brilliant cut with its multiple facets. Diamonds sparkled as never before and came to dominate jewellery design.
The main items of jewellery were brooches, belts/girdles, coronets, and necklaces/rings.
Brooches were at first used for necessity, for pinning on cloaks or fastening belts. They were usually round, solid, and fairly small.
Naturalistic jewellery, decorated with clearly recognisable flowers and fruit, was popular in the 19th century. By the 1850s the delicate early designs had given way to more extravagant and complex compositions of flowers and foliage. The colours in nature were matched by coloured gemstones, and a ‘language of flowers spelt out special messages.
However, they soon became much more decorative, at first having intricate reliefs worked in them with silver or gold. These reliefs could be of geometric shapes, designs taken from nature, inscriptions, or crosses. In the middle of the thirteenth century, they became circles of gold set with jewels, with a movable pin in the centre. During the fourteenth century, many were shaped as hearts. Thus, brooches also came to signify rank and wealth just as much as normal clothes.
The girdle was used by women for the majority of this period. It was often made of leather or silk and set with jewels or ornamented with gold and silver.
During the 14th century, girdles began to be replaced by hip belts, which were usually made of metal and worn straight around the hips. Crowns were perhaps the strongest signifiers of nobility, especially royalty, and so they were extremely lavish and intricate and were made of the most precious metals and jewels. Coronets, however, were smaller and plainer circles.
Rings were worn to signify betrothal, royalty, or high nobility. They were the only piece of jewellery to decrease in size over the years. By the 14th century, they had become smaller and less unwieldy and were usually just bands of gold or silver with an inscription or a few small jewels.
Signet rings were heavier than normal rings and so they were worn on the thumb. During the 15th century, women began wearing rings more often than men. Their rings were much more delicate and smaller than the rings men wore.
Necklaces only began to be worn often during the 14th century. They began as strips of fabric or ribbon that were embellished with jewels but developed into intricately jewelled metal chains and pendants during the 15th century. Women began wearing delicate necklaces made of pearls with jewel pendants.
