The Place Of Men's Jewelry Throughout History

Men can look stylish and sophisticated when properly attired and jewelry can be the icing on the cake. For centuries jewelry has been used as a symbol of wealth, influence and power.

Mens jewelry dates back all the way to the stone age. In South Africa, there was evidence found of jewelry made from mollusks that dated back to 100,000 years ago. Other materials like teeth, wood, shells and bone were fashioned into adornments. Most often, these pieces were used as a means to fasten clothing together. Some were traded for goods and food as currency.

Jewelry has been credited with healing, protection, warding off evil spirits, and to indicate affluence and position. Around 7000 years ago, metal working began with copper being melted down and formed into pieces. Later, other metals were discovered and became more popular in jewelry making.

The Pharaohs of Egypt were known for their love of gold. Many wore gold all over their body. Gold was easy to work with and became the most popular metal for adornment. Pharaohs would wear gold bracelets, necklaces, pendants, breast plates, arm cuffs, anklets, earrings, and head pieces. Bracelets around the wrists and neck were believed to offer protection and as a show of status, power, and wealth. Egyptians lived rather short lives, generally only 30-40 years and jewelry was a large part of preparation for their death. The more jewelry and gold you were buried with, the better prepared you would be for a prosperous afterlife. The jewelry also signified to the Gods the status of the wearer so that their position would be known into the afterlife.

During the middle ages, men wore rings, necklaces and even adorned their swords, knives, shields, and armor with precious stones. Kings and Queens began to wear ornate crowns made of gold encrusted with many different types of gemstones. Jewelry became a way of separating the upper classes from the serfs. Some also believed that some stones and jewels held mystical powers and were wielded by seers and magicians.

During the era of the Roman Empire, necklaces with a fish symbol called ichthys were worn by those belonging to the Christian faith and shown as a badge to gain entry into secret Christian meetings and forbidden rituals.

Napoleon also influenced men's jewelry. More outrageous and flashy jewelry quickly became a popular accent to men's attire. Many of the royal families began to have older pieces reset into more ornate settings, sparking the rage of reinventing jewelry in new ways.

So as you see, throughout history, men's jewelry has been a symbol of power, affluence, position, status, and wealth.