Body Jewelry Through The Ages Jewelry has a long and quite fascinating history in lots of the civilizations in history, but not all of them. Body jewelry had several functions. Banks did not exist in the West until the Fourteen Century, so people had to take care of their own money. Jewelry was the most convenient way of carrying it around. If a merchant went on a buying trip, he could either count on his family to take care of his wealth or take it with him. In any case, he would need to take something of value to trade with. There were no cheques or credit cards, however, a solitary gold pendant might be worth a month's wages or much more if it were coated with precious stones. A gold ring or a brooch might be of less value for smaller purchases. There were coins of different values, but they were bulky. Jewelry has always been a convenient way of transferring money and still is in some countries in the guise of a dowry. Many women still prefer to hold their personal wealth in the shape of body jewelry. If wealth is stored in body jewelry, it may also be used to display one's wealth and status at special dos. In the East many women wear their dowry jewelry to display how much their husbands valued them before they got married. Most cultures use body jewelry on their clothing or hair, except, of course, the ring. Rings are worn on fingers, toes, biceps (torc) and even around the neck as with the Karen in Burma and Thailand. Other types or body jewelry are necklaces, bracelets and body piercings. Body piercings saw something of a renaissance in the Developed World with the punks in the Seventies, although body piercings in the form or earrings have always been popular with Western women. Nose piercings are fairly common in the West now, but have always been popular with Indian women. The same is the case of navel piercings, which young women like nowadays. Navel and ear piercings are frequently fairly plain in that they are often a band of inert precious metal like silver or gold without any valuable stones. However, women and men have used ordinary, everyday items like pins and safety pins manufactured of stainless steel. This is intended to display an irreverence for tradition and wealth. Plastic has been used for the same purpose. Naturally, both plastic and stainless steel are inert so will not cause blood poisoning. This makes it easier for young, impecunious people to adorn themselves, which is the modern reason for wearing jewelry in the modern world. Nowadays fewer people are able to tell the difference between real jewelry and cheaper fakes. Even fairly well-off women will wear cheap costume jewelry for everyday use. Another use of body jewelry is to indicate membership of a gang or club. Freemasons often wear a ring or a tie pin denoting a Masonic symbol. These articles of gang or
club jewelry might be ostentatious or hard for the uninitiated to differentiate from other jewelry. Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of subjects, and is now concerned with Good Diamond Quality. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Jewellry and Watches.