Jewelry today is not what was found in the ancient past. A lot of the jewelry then was used for status, as accolades to hunting conquests, as symbols of marital standing or for religious reasons. Jewelry today is used for self decoration and making one-self distinctive and unique.
Types of Jewelry
Today’s Jewelry
There are three distinctive types of jewelry in existence. Of course other people may categorise them differently, but I find them Easily Differentiated in these three classes;
Fine jewelry
Silver Jewelry
Costume jewelry
Much of the jewelry we see being worn daily today is costume jewelry because it comes in different shades of colours, is creatively designed and is at an affordable price. This is desirable of today’s woman.
Costume jewelry may sometimes be referred to as fashion jewelry especially if it goes out to make a bold statement more than just flatter the outfit. It may be made from textile, leather, brass, copper or gold or silver plated base metals.
African, Tribal and Ethnic Jewelry
African Jewelry on the other hand is jewelry created from organic materials. These materials include animal skin and hair, bone, teeth, seeds, husks shells or carved stones and wood. It is one type of jewelry that has seen its fair share of troubles from exhumation in ancient royal tombs to exportation into museums abroad. It has also evolved with time to what we find in our shops today. It may also be referred to as tribal or ethnic jewelry although there is a small distinction in meaning to these terms;
Tribal jewelry is made by indigenous tribal artisans using local materials to create items of adornments that contain significant cultural meaning for the wearer, for example the irizi or Kigango of Mijikenda tribe of Kenya. The artisans choose these materials carefully depending on traditions, symbolic meaning and their availability.
Ethnic jewelry on the other hand is jewelry that merely reminds us of certain groups e.g. the Zulu beads or Masai beadwork.
Today’s jewelry may not be made from precious metals such as gold, silver and precious gems as it was in the past. It consists of mostly costume jewelry which incorporates a variety of materials including crystals, acrylic, leather and semi precious stones. Could it be because today’s woman is more industrious and is seemingly almost always on the go? That independent stylish working class lady?
