What's Old is New Again

Jewelry History Made Fun

It is possible that prehistoric people decorated themselves with adornments before they even thought of wearing clothes!  Before precious metals were discovered, people who lived by the ocean used shells, fishbones, fish teeth and colored pebbles as jewelry.  Those who lived inland used items from animals they killed for food, including antlers, mammoth tusks, bones, skins and bird feathers. Ancient people used all of these items to mimic their favorite or indigenous animals. Chanteur Designs has many animal designs, including cats, dogs, butterflies, unicorns, ladybugs and even the ancient turtle:

In the next era, people transitioned from a nomadic life to more of a settled social order. People began settling along the banks of large rivers.  It was here that agriculture was developed.   It was also along rivers that alluvial deposits of minerals were discovered.  The first of these were gold and precious stones. Chanteur Designs continues this tradition featuring gold in many of our products and the simulation of precious stones.

These are also designs of ancient civilizations portraying nature.  As previously noted, animals were used for design ideas.  Flowers, snowflakes, rain drops, and other designs from nature are still used today.

Even though there has been considerable advancements in processing precious metals and gems, the idea of wearing jewelry has always remained the same.  Jewelry is a non-verbal declaration of the wearer’s wealth, rank, political and religious affiliation or affections towards someone.  Therefore, jewelry has become timeless and is continually refined with its ageless purpose in mind.  Jewelry development began in the ancient cultures in Egypt, India and China.  Their thousands of years of jewelry development laid the groundwork for all of the later European cultures and their unique style affected fashion trends today, almost four thousand years later.

Chanteur Designs follows in this tradition using the end all and be all of precious metals, gold, with sparkly inlays in our bangles and an enamel heart similar to the abalone shell used in ancient civilizations.  

Thousands of year later, jewelry is still adorning the rich but advancement in metallurgy has enabled jewelry to spread to the masses.  Today, people use jewelry all over the world to express their fashionable ways.  Here is one of the first uses of silver as a fashion statement and also a sign of wealth as it is branded as “real.”  

Today, the best silver jewelry is categorized as 925 Sterling Silver.  Of course, this is the only silver used by Chanteur Designs.

Jewelry Innovation and Evolution

The world then went through the Renaissance, Age of Discovery and the Industrial Revolution.  Jewelry designs kept up with the times and transitioned, as well.  There were many new designs, but there were the thousand year-old favorites patterned after ancient civilizations, as well.  Egyptian designs heavily influenced Romanticism and Art Deco.  Chanteur Designs is proud to be a part of more than thousands of years of decoration and years of metallurgy and gem processing.

Although we’re fresh out of some ancient designs such as nose rings, lip rings, ear plugs, breastplates, stomachers, watch fobs, toe rings and shoe buckles, we’ve kept the best of the best with our bracelets, bangles, earrings and necklaces, always offering you the safest metals and the most fashionable jewelry for the most important civilization of all today!

Check out our full collection of kids jewelry for aspiring fashionistas here!!!

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