Editing Jewellery (section)

== Form and function ==
[[{{Not a typo|File:Horloge, zgn. ‘boule de Genève’, met Zwitserse ankergang, objectnr KA 3620.jpg}}<!-- Do not change the spelling of the file! -->|thumb|right|A gold, [[diamonds]] and [[sapphires]] red [[guilloché]] enamel "[[Boule de Genève]]", a type of pendant [[watch]] used as an accessory for women. An example of an object which is functional, artistic/decorative, marker of social status or a symbol of personal meaning.]]
Humans have used jewellery for a number of different reasons:
* functional, generally to fix clothing or hair in place.
* as a marker of [[social status]] and personal status, as with a [[wedding ring]]
* as a signifier of some form of affiliation, whether ethnic, religious or social
* to provide talismanic protection (in the form of [[amulet]]s)<ref>{{cite book |last=Kunz |first=George Frederick |title=Magic of Jewels and Charms |publisher=John Lippincott Co. |year=1917}} URL: [http://www.farlang.com/gemstones/kunz-magic-jewels/page_360 Magic Of jewels: Chapter VII Amulets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213125551/http://www.farlang.com/gemstones/kunz-magic-jewels/page_360 |date=2013-12-13 }} [[George Frederick Kunz]], a gemmologist for Tiffany's, built the collections of banker J.P. Morgan and of the American Natural History Museum in New York City. This chapter deals entirely with using jewels and gemstones in jewellery for talismanic purposes in Western cultures.</ref>
* as an artistic display
* as a carrier or symbol of personal meaning – such as love, mourning, a personal milestone or even luck
* generally considered as a good investment
* superstition<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Magical jewelry |editor1-last=Manutchehr-Danai |editor1-first=Mohsen |title=Dictionary of Gems and Gemology |location=Berlin |publisher=Springer |date=2009 |doi=10.1007/978-3-540-72816-0 |isbn=978-3-540-72795-8 |quote=magical jewelry [...] articles of jewelry worn for their magical belief, medicinal powers, or superstitions reasons.}}</ref>

Most{{quantify|date=April 2020}} cultures at some point have had a practice of keeping large amounts of wealth stored in the form of jewellery. Numerous cultures store wedding [[dowry|dowries]] in the form of jewellery or make jewellery as a means to store or display coins. Alternatively, jewellery has been used as a currency or trade good to buy and sell.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/money_01.shtml |title=BBC – History – Ancient History in depth: Viking Money |access-date=2017-11-10 |archive-date=2014-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140210111850/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/money_01.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> an example being the use of [[slave beads]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/trade-beads/ |title=Trade Beads |date=2011-01-13 |publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum |language=en |access-date=2017-11-10 |archive-date=2022-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108021106/http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/trade-beads/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Many items of jewellery, such as [[brooch]]es and [[buckle]]s, originated as purely functional items, but evolved into decorative items as their functional requirement diminished.<ref name="Holland 1999">Holland, J. 1999. The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. ''Kingfisher books''.</ref> Similarly, [[Tiffany & Co.|Tiffany & Co]]. produced [[inkwell]]s in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, skillfully combining materials like enamel and fine metals, reflecting the same craftsmanship seen in their jewellery collections. These inkwells were not only practical but also artistic in design.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Designed by Louis C. Tiffany {{!}} Covered Inkwell {{!}} American |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13505 |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Tiffany & Co. Art of Crafting Enamel Gold Inkwells |url=https://dsfantiquejewelry.com/blogs/journal/the-tiffany-co-art-of-crafting-enamel-gold-inkwells?srsltid=AfmBOopDtFk8aTA-ia_UEYWRM790shW8Oj1jCZaK91wbzwHHsKB1Xw1q |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=DSF Antique Jewelry |language=en}}</ref>

Jewellery can symbolise group membership (as in the case, of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[crucifix]] or the [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[Star of David]]) or status (as in the case of [[Livery collar|chains of office]], or the Western practice of [[marriage|married]] people wearing wedding rings).

Wearing of [[amulet]]s and [[devotional medal]]s to provide protection or to ward off evil is common in some cultures. These may take the form of symbols (such as the [[ankh]]), stones, plants, animals, body parts (such as the [[Hamsa|Khamsa]]), or [[glyph]]s (such as stylised versions of the [[Throne Verse]] in [[Islamic art]]).<ref>[[Morris, Desmond]]. ''Body Guards: Protective Amulets and Charms''. Element, 1999, {{ISBN|1862045720}}.</ref>