Gold and Silver Jewellery

Gold and silver jewellery is a fascinating subject and covers a very broad range of jewellery.

Tawhid Abdullah, Chairman of the Dubai Gold and jewellery group once said that gold and silver jewellery was the third biggest contributor to the country after construction, oil and gas.

This really emphasizes the importance people place on jewellery. It is a trait that people have had for many years.

In Egypt gold was the preferred metal for jewellery making as it was easy to handle and malleable. It looked nice, was rare and did not tarnish. In the time of the Pharaohs gold was considered the metal of the gods.

This was in evidence during the excavations by Howard Carter in 1922 leading to the great discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb and the many fine gold funerary artifacts.

In ancient Greece, some beautiful and delicate necklaces and earrings have been found in burial sites. Italian and Roman coinage is well known to avid ancient coin collectors.

In fact eight centuries before Christ the Italians in the Tuscany region produced some of the finest granulated textured gold work. They made large clasps, necklaces, bracelets and earrings as well as ingenious pendants that were hollow and could be filled with perfume. The Italians are still renowned for high quality stylish trend making gold work today.

The Romans were using 18 and 24 carat coinage and this was often used for decorative work as well as an exchange medium.

Gold and silver jewellery, in short, has been a favorite throughout the centuries due to the various factors including their beauty, easily worked and rarity.

It is probably safe to say that gold and silver jewellery will continue to be the bees knees when it comes to fashion, decoration and value in the coming centuries.