Interesting Facts About Jewelry

The term jewellery is derived from the word jewel. Jewel was coined from the French word 'jouel', which was derived from the Latin word ‘jocale’, which means 'plaything.' While everyone else uses the term "jewellery", the Americans call it "jewelry." Are you aware of the fact that the oldest jewellery is 100,000 years old and was made using Nassarius(common snail) shells? Throughout the history of civilization, jewelry played a vital role and it symbolized the social standing and status of a person. And it still continues.

Here we at karatcraft, a prominent online jewellery shop, have put together a few fascinating facts about jewellery that you would love to read.

·         Jewelry is as old as the human race.

·         Were you aware of the fact that diamonds were first discovered and mined in India? “The Cullinan” is the largest diamond that was ever mined. It weighs 1.3 pounds.

·         Egyptians and Mesopotamian (present day Iraq), the two ancient civilizations, were the pioneers of organized jewelry production. Their progress in the space of gem collecting and metallurgy was significant for jewelry making in all subsequent civilizations. Indians have been making fine jewelry by using gold and other precious stones for nearly 5000 years.

·         In 1477, it was Maximilian of Austria who introduced the tradition of engagement rings. His soon-to-be wife, Mary of Burgundy, received a beautifully handcrafted ring as a token of love and promise of marriage.

·         Did you know by far United States is the largest consumer of diamonds followed by China at number two and India at number three? Statistics show that 75% of the American brides-to-be receive diamonds embedded in gold as their engagement rings.

·         A good quality ruby is more expensive than the similar-sized diamond. Among the traditional Indian jewelers, ruby is known as “Ratnaraj”, meaning "king of precious stones."

·         Finely designed and unique jewelry pieces of the west were influenced by Victorian, Romanticisim, Art Deco and Renaissance era.

·         The Black Jet jewelry that became popular during the reign of Queen Victoria actually used coal fossils that were found during the mid-Jurassic period. They were between 150 and 180 million years old.

Facts about Indian Jewelry

The Indian civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. And jewelry has been part of this civilization from time immemorial. With time Indians became prominent players in jewelry making and were supposedly highest producer of jewelry in the world.

In olden days, India had endless supply of precious metals such as silver, copper and gold. There other materials which were available in abundance were Ivory and gemstones such as coral, sapphire, ruby, agate and diamond. Indians knew the technique of mining and polishing diamonds way back in the ancient times.

Ancient Indians made refined jewelry connected to their way of life and religion. Some of the traditional jewelry of the periods Gandharva and Sunga were influenced by the Greek designs. During the time of rule of Akbar, designs had borrowed idea from Iranian designers. Dutch designs were incorporated along with Iranian designs during Shah Jahan's time. This can be seen in the amulets, necklaces, turbans and bangles. Kudan and meenakari jewelry was popularized during the reign of Shah jahan.

One of the prized jewelry that was worn by all the kings and emperors of India was the navaratna amulet.  It’s a gold ornament with nine precious stones embedded in it. They were diamond, ruby, pearl, ruby, emerald, sapphire, cat's eye, coral, and topaz.

To this day Indians use jewelry made of gold and silver to keep up with the tradition chalked out by their ancestors. You will find men and women decked up in gold jewelry for various religious occasions and events such as baby showers, naming ceremony, engagements and marriages.