When was necklace invented

Necklaces for men in certain occupations never went out of style, and higher ranks of clergy, such as Roman Catholic or Anglican bishops and cardinals have, since the Renaissance, continued to wear elaborate and expensive neck chains with large hanging pectoral crosses or crucifixes as part of their ecclesiastical regalia.

Within the broad style category of ethnic jewelry, necklaces have today transcended their original or traditional use by ethnic groups around the world and are collected and worn by European Americans of both genders as fashion or adornment regardless of, or perhaps even in reference to, their original indigenous functions or meanings.

However, throughout history, the necklace as indigenous tribal or non-Western ethnic jewelry has been and continues to be a significant expression of all of the uses and meanings of jewelry outlined in this volume. In many cultures, the necklace has taken precedence over other forms of jewelry as the most important piece for adornment and communication in expressing identity or position.

In addition, ethnic necklaces made from precious materials such as gold and silver, or precious organic materials like coral are frequently the repositories of a woman's or family's wealth.

For example, in many nomadic cultures around the world, particularly in Central Asia, North Africa, and throughout the Middle East, heavy silver necklaces, perhaps including expensive elements such as amber or coral beads and incorporating silver coins, are portable "savings accounts" or forms of wealth and currency that could be converted to money when required.

The heavy silver collar-type necklaces of the Hmong and Hmong-American ethnic group, originally from Southeast Asia and now predominantly living in the United States as political refugees, may include hundreds of silver coins and several pounds of silver metal.

These necklaces serve a primary function of displaying the family's monetary wealth when worn by young women in courting rituals at Hmong New Year's celebrations. Gold necklaces, among other items of jewelry such as bangles or earrings, are purchased by women in Asia and India, for example, as their income warrants. These are put aside for future needs as investment and savings and brought out for display at weddings, for instance, especially when worn by the daughter of the family as a bride.

In many instances, gold or silver jewelry is the only form of wealth that a woman may have access to. In another example, expensive Italian coral beads are collected and made into necklaces by ethnic groups in West Africa, such as the Kalabari Ijo in the Niger River delta. Worn by both men and women at ceremonial functions, these necklaces are important markers of identity but also a significant vehicle for displaying family wealth and prestige.

A pendant is an ornament that is suspended from another piece of jewelry such as a necklace, neck chain, ribbon, brooch, bracelet, or earring. Pendants take many forms including large gems or pearls, cameos, crosses, lockets, amulets, or watches. Amulets as pendants have been most significant as one of the first forms of prehistoric jewelry. As pendants, amulets retain an unprecedented popularity in the early twenty-first century as good luck charms, as talismans, and as protection from the evil eye or any number of other perceived disasters or supernatural forces.

Pendants are frequently made to be detachable so they might be used on different necklaces, or made with a pin-back so they might also be worn as a brooch. The cross or cruciform shape is an important type of pendant in religious and amuletic categories of jewelry that has been worn since the development of early Christianity. It can carry ornamental, protective, and devotional or religious meanings.

Wearing a cross can visually signify a person's religious affiliation, and different shapes of crosses can symbolize different branches or subcults of Christianity.

A crucifix is a type of cross showing Christ's crucified body, worn predominantly today by religious clergy. Crosses have been made from various precious and nonprecious materials to suit a wide range of styles, tastes, and economic standings. Crosses in the Middle Ages and Renaissance were made as reliquary pendants to hold what was believed to be a relic of the true crucifix.

In contemporary Western Christianity, small gold crosses on a chain are important gifts for a child's christening or first communion. Crosses have also been worn as charms or amulets to ward off evil or to protect the wearer from disease.

For example, small gold crosses made with coral beads are worn in southern Italy today as an amulet that combines the amuletic protection of red coral against the evil eye with the symbolism of Christianity. This cross is seen as more socially acceptable than wearing the red or gold horn amulet called a corno. In the late twentieth century the cross has been appropriated as a trendy sub- or popular culture motif worn without religious overtones or with a sense of defiance against its traditional symbolism.

Other types of personal pendants that might be worn to signify religious affiliation include the Roman Catholic saints' medals, the Jewish Star of David, the Islamic Hand of Fatima, the Hindu Om mantra symbol, or the phylactery or amulet case worn in Jewish, Islamic, and Tibetan Buddhist religions.

This last example is a small decorated metal box enclosing a prayer or scripture passage written on paper. A locket is a small pendant in the form of a flat, round, or oval case with a hinged cover, worn usually on a neck chain or suspended from a necklace of various styles. It is worn as a sentimental piece, meant to hold a memento such as a lock of hair, a photograph, or, before the invention of photography, a miniature portrait painted on ivory.

They are made from various metals and with diverse techniques, often set with gemstones and engraved or enameled. Early lockets were worn as devotional or reliquary jewelry, made in the Middle Ages and renaissance to hold a saint's relic. In the sixteenth century, monarchs like Elizabeth I often presented gifts of lockets holding their portrait to favored courtiers. One famous example of a commemorative type of locket is Elizabeth's "Armada Jewel" circa with a cast gold and enameled profile portrait of her on the front and an enameled depiction of Noah's Ark on the back, made to celebrate England's victory over the Spanish Armada.

Lockets were very popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and this continued into the twentieth after photography was developed. Padparadscha Sapphire Engagement Rings. Montana Sapphire Engagement Rings.

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Those styles spanned the 18 th and early 19 th centuries. But, pendants and pendent necklaces date back even further, all the way to ancient times. There is also jewelry that dates back 25, years and were worn as talismans or amulets by a variety of civilizations which also used them for healing, spirituality and protection. These talisman pieces evolved into what we now call pendants or charms and evoke diverse symbolism and meaning. However when we think of pendant necklaces , we often think of the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries when different styles evoked different movements in fashion, culture and art, and ultimately the ability of the general public to wear jewelry styles once only reserved for royalty or the upper crust.

The earlier Georgian padlocks were similar to lockets in that they would hold a lock of hair or a photo behind a piece of glass in the back. These early padlocks were decorated with floral engravings with different meanings of love and romance and often were set with foiled back colored gemstones.

Sentimental jewelry was a favorite during this time period and into the Victorian era; therefore, hearts were the most common shape for padlocks. Fobs with hardstone intaglios were also worn as pendants on long chains. The most beautiful fobs of this time period were designed in three colors of gold with repousse work and the hard stone underneath which was also a seal was often engraved with significant sayings and motifs.

Iberian styles featured high karat gold pendants that were created in the shape of ornate crosses or other large statement ornamental shapes with bows and other flourishes.

Some more heavily gold accented elements, and other pieces with open, yet delicate lacework, were set with multiple gemstones that included emeralds, chrysoberyl and pink topaz as the prevalent stones. Victorian times saw sentimental motifs hit the heights of popularity.

Many times, brooches doubled as pendants with a pin and a bale-like fixture in the back. These floral motifs often blossomed on lockets which hung as pendants from different styles of Victorian chains. Horseshoes, buckles, stars and crescent moons also were applied to lockets. When Prince Albert died, memorial lockets came into Vogue and stayed in style as Queen Victoria led the fashion and was in mourning for the next 20 years. At the end of the 19 th century the Art Nouveau movement represented a revolt against the industrial age in pure artistic expression with the rebellious use of precious and non-precious metals, combined with unusual colored gemstones in depictions of nature - primarily insects, birds and floral motifs.

Sensual and ethereal versions of the female form were also a recurring theme. Intricate pendants were often suspending from a double chain. Dragonflies almost looked real with the effect of the enamel delicately capturing the veins of the wings in flight. Other motifs were dreamlike, ethereal and sometimes provided darker themes — the female form with flowing hair and wings or with the tail of a serpent.

There was an entire series of French sayings with floral motifs in medallion shapes and high karat gold pendants that represented love and friendship and these were imbued with the sentimentality we had seen before but the growing use of the art of enameling in pendants also offered a more sophisticated take. The Art Nouveau movement began in France and influenced all of Europe and the United States, while overlapping with other periods.