The three terms rhinestone, lead glass and crystal glass are sometimes used in quite a confusing way, in my opinion, so I wanted to know more about them and explain about my findings in a blog. A rhinestone (paste or diamante) is a diamond simulant. Already in the 13th century diamantes or paste were made […]

People have been wearing jewellery for many different purposes during thousands of years. Of course, jewellery can be used for functional reasons, like a clasp, a buckle or a brooch to keep clothes together and hair pins to keep your hair in place. However, there are many more reasons why people wear jewellery and some […]

While I was in the process of finding my own personal style of creating steampunk art jewellery, a friend asked me if I had any intention of using genuine precious gemstones in my designs. So far I had been using some ordinary glass rhinestones in a few of my creations, but not really given this […]

Filigree is a delicate and lacelike kind of jewellery metalwork. Fine, pliable metal threads are curled, twisted or plaited in ornamental and intertwined patterns, soldered together at points of contact or with the metal groundwork. Usually metals such as gold and silver are used in the filigree techniques, although other materials are sometimes used, such […]

The word “jewellery“, or “jewelry” in American English, was invented many thousands of years later than the actual first pieces of decorative items worn for personal adornment were created by men. It derived from the word “jewel”, which is the Anglicised form of the Old French word “jouel“. In late Middle English, around the 17th […]

Europe became more important for the innovation of the jewellery industry after the fall of the ancient civilizations in Egypt, the Middle-East and the Roman Empire, although it took quite some time before European civilizations really established that important role and position. Nearly a thousand years passed by before new knowledge and ideas were enabled […]