Light of the Silvery Moon

New Etsy.com treasury I put together.  There are some amazing products in this list.  Take a look!

Light of the Silvery Moon

    

    

A History of Charm Bracelets, Part 5

The beautiful bracelets of Queen Victoria ignited the next big wave of charm wearing in the early 20th century. It was at this stage that charms had a dramatic change of purpose. They went from being practical tools of protection and power and symbols of status to become decorative fashion jewelry. Small lockets, glass beads and family crests that hung on bracelets and necklaces were all the rage.

A History of Charm Bracelets, Part 2

In Grecian times bracelets were popular with men and soldiers wore defensive bands of leather, often decorated with gold, silver and or gemstones, on their forearms. They were known as ‘Bracels,’ from the Latin Brachium, meaning, ‘arm.’ When women caught on that these Bracels would look great on them, Not to be out done by the men they started wearing smaller versions, called little Bracels…or ‘Bracel-ets.’ 

In the far off land Egypt, the often seemingly mythical civilization of the ancient Egyptians enchants us today in this modern world.  As it still holds true world wide, jewelry played an important part of the ancient Egyptian’s everyday life.  For the pharaoh and his courtiers jewelry was an essential part of their apparel.  The bright colors of the jewels augmented their fine white linen garments and heavy wigs worn by the nobility and the members of the ruling classes.  But for the Egyptians jewelry was not merely decorative it also held powerful meaning that went way beyond the physical realm.  Symbols such as  the ankh life sign, the djed pillar of stability, the protecting udjat eye, the scarab of rebirth and the images of gods gave all sorts of benefits to the wearer of the beautifully crafted pieces we see today in museums.


The materials and colors they used in their jewelry were not put together because they looked good together, every element of a piece had special meaning.  Gold was seen as a divine metal, regarded as the flesh of Ra, symbolizing eternity.  Lapis lazuli, which came from Afghanistan, represented the heavens and was thought to be superior to all other metals except gold and silver.  Green turquoise was associated with the green of the earth and was the symbol of youth and rebirth.