Jewellery

Jewellery or jewelry (/ˈdʒuːᵊlᵊri/) consists of small decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes, and the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal, often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as shells and other plant materials may be used. It is one of the oldest type of archaeological artefact – with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the Jewellery or jewelry (/ˈdʒuːᵊlᵊri/) consists of small decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes, and the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal, often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as shells and other plant materials may be used. It is one of the oldest type of archaeological artefact – with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the oldest known jewellery. The basic forms of jewellery vary between cultures but are often extremely long-lived; in European cultures the most common forms of jewellery listed above have persisted since ancient times, while other forms such as adornments for the nose or ankle, important in other cultures, are much less common. Historically, the most widespread influence on jewellery in terms of design and style have come from Asia.

Jewellery may be made from a wide range of materials. Gemstones and similar materials such as amber and coral, precious metals, beads, and shells have been widely used, and enamel has often been important. In most cultures jewellery can be understood as a status symbol, for its material properties, its patterns, or for meaningful symbols. Jewellery has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings, and even genital jewellery. The patterns of wearing jewellery between the sexes, and by children and older people can vary greatly between cultures, but adult women have been the most consistent wearers of jewellery; in modern European culture the amount worn by adult males is relatively low compared with other cultures and other periods in European culture.

The word jewellery itself is derived from the word jewel, which was anglicized from the Old French "jouel", and beyond that, to the Latin word "jocale", meaning plaything. In British English, Indian English, New Zealand English, Hiberno-English, Australian English, and South African English it is spelled jewellery, while the spelling is jewelry in American English. Both are used in Canadian English, though jewelry prevails by a two to one margin. In French and a few other European languages the equivalent term, joaillerie there, may also cover decorated metalwork in precious metal such as objets d'art and church items, not just objects worn on the person.

...more

Jewellery Books

Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World

The Complete Metalsmith: An Illustrated Handbook

Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box

Steampunk Style Jewelry: Victorian, Fantasy, and Mechanical Necklaces, Bracelets, and Earrings

The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques

Making Bead & Wire Jewelry: Simple Techniques, Stunning Designs

Jewelry: From Antiquity to the Present (World of Art)

The Complete Jewelry Making Course: Principles, Practice and Techniques: A Beginner's Course for Aspiring Jewelry Makers

More jewellery books...

Lists

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

Magic Jewelry

29 books — 13 voters

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Jewelry Box

752 books — 102 voters

Charm Bracelets

24 books — 6 voters

Baby Bracelets

3 books — 1 voter

Magic Jewelry: Rings, Necklaces, Bracelets, Diadems, etc.

134 books — 6 voters

Tempting Faith DiNapoli by Lisa Gabriele

Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen

Candy Necklaces

4 books — 1 voter

Related Genres

Gemstones
Jewels

Featured News & Interviews

Get Ready! Readers' Most Anticipated Books of 2026

Read »

Quotes Tagged “Jewellery”

“ ...almost every pearl on sale today was born of the planned sexual violation of a small creature, and that considerable suffering hangs on those necklace strings. ”
― Victoria Finlay, Jewels: A Secret History

20 likes

“ I never really cared to spend money on jewellery anyway, which was ideal since I would never receive anything of the sort from Imran. He kept saying that his mother had kept gold on the condition that his bride was a Muslim Pakistani, but his first wife had been Jewish and white. He never gave it to Jemima. The thought was sweet but I knew his sisters better than him by then. I assured him that I was past the age of wearing gold. But I did make it clear what I really wanted. With Allah as my wit ...more ”
― Reham Khan, Reham Khan

0 likes

More quotes...