Thursday 3 November 2011

Ancient Egyptian Jewelry Design

Egyptian Jewelry is one of the most beautiful examples of ancient jewelry. Excavations have revealed treasures containing beautiful examples of ancient Egyptian jewelry, with intricate designs and a sense for style, as early as 3500-5000 years ago. Not only is ancient Egyptian jewelry beautiful in design, but also uses gorgeous coloring and precious materials. Precious gemstones and gold metal were common in these designs, gold was their metal of choice.
Many jewelry designs depicted images of birds, scarabs, or beetles, which have a deep religious symbolism for Egyptians. Gemstones were carved with beetles images. Beetles symbolized rebirth. The eye is another symbol represented in Egyptian ancient jewelry. Males and females wore jewelry. It had social status significance - wealth - but also a protection meaning, as jewelry was also worn to be protected from evil. A beauty and adornment approach was also related to wearing jewelry in ancient Egypt, but the main reason was religious and for protection. Wealthy Egyptians and Pharaohs were entombed with their jewelry. It was worn in death as well. It was supposed to serve them in the afterlife, as it was believed.
Much of these treasures have been lost due to thieves who robbed the tombs of wealthy Egyptians and of pharaohs. One of the remaining treasures that were untouched was found in the tomb of Tutankhamen. It offers a live example of wealth on those days. Egyptians also used color in the jewelry design to give different meanings to their creations. Green was a symbol of fertility. Many gemstones were brought from other lands, although most of it was from Egypt.
Egyptians also used polychrome glass to work on their designs when it was too difficult to work with gemstones. Gemstones found in Egyptian ancient jewelry include carnelian, malachite, jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and quartz. The color blue represented by the lapis lazuli meant royalty. Lapis lazuli was brought from Afghanistan. There were many jewelry pieces such as bracelets, earrings, pendants, elaborated headpieces, brooches, clasps, and many other carefully designed pieces. Chest pieces were called pectorals; they were of intricate design and meant to accompany the death to another life. The designs represented their gods.

Men's Jewelry Box and Fashionable Jewelry

Men's jewelry and accessories have become very popular in this century. Men nowadays are very fashionable. They love to own the latest accessories and are also particular about the type of men's jewelry box they use to store their expensive collection.
Until recently, men were brought up to be dressed in a very formal way. They wore ties, tie pins, cuff links, collar pins, and even suspenders. But now, men have two ways of dressing: casual and formal. Professional dressing, till this day, calls for a tie and tie pin as a minimal requirement. This can vary in different countries according to their culture.
Men pierce their ears and wear a stud as a fashion statement. There are, of course, those traditional men who wear ear studs as a mark of their religion or community. Several types of earrings are available; there are ones with a single stone and ones made of leather, and even made of wood.
Men like to wear rings made of metals like silver, gold, platinum, and titanium. The gold band is generally used as a wedding ring. The other rings have large designs like a skull, or a symbol like faith, hope and charity, etc.
They also wear short chains which look like necklaces. These can be in metal as well as silver and they match it with their bracelets. They also prefer huge designs on their rings and bracelets.

Anniversary Gifts for Her: Handmade Wooden Jewelry Box With Interesting Marquetry Design

So your anniversary is coming up and you're looking for the perfect gift for your beautiful wife. It's time to get creative and find a unique anniversary gift for her. Otherwise, you might just end up in hot water and you definitely don't want that.
If you're looking to impress her, giving her something that's one of a kind and truly extraordinary is something that she will appreciate. You've already given her a diamond necklace with matching earrings for her birthday, so this time why not gift her with an exquisite wooden jewelry box to keep her precious rocks.
Jewelry boxes, especially those made of wood are excellent gifts because they are classic and never go out of style. Most even become heirlooms to be passed on from generation to generation. Imagine her passing on this cherished box to your daughter - great sight, right? And it was all your clever idea.
There are many types and sizes of wooden accessory boxes. Most are made of luxurious hard wood such as teak, mahogany, oak, maple, cherry or burl wood. They are expertly crafted by highly skilled artisans making them very personal and special.
So how do you choose one that your wife will absolutely adore? First, take a look at her collection of jewelry. Depending on how extensive her assortment is, choose a box that can hold everything she has and keep her organized.