Jewellery / Jewellry (spelled jewelry in American English) consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. Costume jewellry is made from less valuable materials. However, jewellry can and has been made out of almost every kind of material.

Examples include bracelets, necklaces, rings, and earrings, as well as items like hair ornaments or body piercing jewellry.

The word is derived from the word "jewel", which was anglicised from the Old French "jouel" in around the 13th century. Further tracing leads back to the Latin word "jocale", meaning plaything.

Jewellry, particularly when made with precious materials, is generally considered valuable and desirable. Some cultures have a practice of keeping large amounts of wealth stored in the form of jewellry. Jewellry can also be symbolic, as in the case of Christians wearing a crucifix in the form of jewellry, or, as is the case in many Western cultures, married people wearing a wedding ring.

Jewellry in various forms has been made and worn by both sexes in almost every (if not every) human culture, on every inhabited continent. Personal adornment seems to be a basic human tendency.

History: Timeline

This is a jewellry timeline from the first uses of metal in history to the Renaissance.

• 7000 BC - Uses of copper in Anatolia, Iran and Eastern Europe.

• 5000 BC - Uses of copper in Egypt.

• 4000 BC - Smelting technology for copper in Egypt and Iran.

• 3450 BC - Use of natural zinc/copper alloy in Egypt.

• 3500 BC - Gold makes an appearance in Egyptian jewellry.

• 3000 BC - Egypt and Iran making simple hammered iron beads

• 3000 BC - The Middle East employ semi-mass-production

• 2000 BC - First signs of the swaging technique

• 2600 BC - Beaded wires began to be used.

• 2500 BC - Egyptians using copper/lead alloys.

• 2500 BC - True iron production technology in Near East.

• 2500 BC - The intentional addition of silver and copper to gold.

• 2500 BC - Gold wires are characterized by seam lines that follow a spiral path along the wire.

• 2000 BC - Use of patterned punches

• 1500 BC - Earplugs and earrings become popular in Egypt.

• 1400 BC - Egypt Amarna period, using resin and mud for repoussé backing.
  1400 BC - Deliberate addition of zinc to copper in Palestine.

• 1400 BC - Philistines have iron.

• 1400 BC - Very copper rich gold alloys popular in Egypt.

• 1000 BC - Persian sheet bronze work 0.05mm thick.

• 1000 BC - The start of true engraving.

• 900 BC - The Greeks have iron.

• 700 BC - World's oldest coinage in Lydia.

• 575 BC - In Greece, jewellry is still very rare.

• 500 BC - Hafted hammers were being used in some parts.

• 500 BC - Iron in use in Britain

• 400 BC - Greeks using Beeswax for filler in repoussé.

• 350 BC - Use of combined punches and dies of bronze.

• 325 BC - Animal or human-headed hoop earrings were popular.

• 300 BC - Diadems are first seen.

• 300 BC - Red Coral popular in Celtic jewellry.

• 50 AD - Start of the Roman period, where addition of silver to gold becomes almost unknown.

• 100 AD - Sulphur fills hollow gold items throughout the Roman Empire.

• 150 AD - Tin rings found in Nubia

• 300 AD - Lead becomes more common in places.

• 400 AD - Pewter jewellry is made.

• 400 AD - A shale die is found in Britain.

• 1500 AD - The Renaissance

• 1994 AD - On-line Jewish Jewellry