Editing Jewellery (section)

== Impact on society ==
Jewellery has been used to denote status. In ancient Rome, only certain ranks could wear rings and<ref>Pliny the Elder. ''The Natural History''. ed. [[John Bostock (physician)|John Bostock]], [[Henry Thomas Riley]], Book XXXIII ''The Natural History of Metals'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+33.1 Online at the Perseus Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411103937/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+33.1 |date=2008-04-11 }} Chapter 4. Retrieved July 2006</ref> later, [[sumptuary law]]s dictated who could wear what type of {{not a typo|jewellery}}. This was also based on the rank of the citizens of that time.

Cultural dictates have also played a significant role. For example, the wearing of earrings by Western men was considered effeminate in the 19th century and early 20th century. More recently, the display of body {{not a typo|jewellery}}, such as [[Body piercing|piercings]], has become a mark of acceptance or seen as a badge of courage within some groups but is completely rejected in others. Likewise, [[hip hop]] culture has popularised the slang term [[bling-bling]], which refers to the ostentatious display of {{not a typo|jewellery}} by men or women.

Conversely, the {{not a typo|jewellery}} industry in the early 20th century launched a campaign to popularise [[wedding ring]]s for men, which caught on, as well as [[engagement ring]]s for men, which did not, go so far as to create a false history and claim that the practice had medieval roots. By the mid-1940s, 85% of weddings in the U.S. featured a double-ring ceremony, up from 15% in the 1920s.<ref>Howard, Vicky. "A Real Man's Ring: Gender and the Invention of Tradition." ''Journal of Social History'', Summer 2003, pp 837–856.</ref>

Some religions have specific rules or traditions surrounding {{not a typo|jewellery}} (or even prohibiting it) and many religions have edicts against excessive display. Islam, for instance, considers the wearing of gold by men as [[Haraam]].<ref>[[Yusuf al-Qaradawi]]. ''[http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/Q_LP/ The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam (online)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013155916/http://witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/Q_LP/ |date=2011-10-13 }}''</ref> The majority of Islamic {{not a typo|jewellery}} was in the form of bridal [[Dowry|dowries]], and traditionally was not handed down from generation to generation; instead, on a woman's death it was sold at the [[souk]] and recycled or sold to passers-by. Islamic {{not a typo|jewellery}} from before the 19th century is thus exceedingly rare.<ref>Greenbaum, Toni. "Silver Speaks: Traditional Jewelry From the Middle East". ''Metalsmith'', Winter 2004, Vol. 24, Issue 1, p. 56. Greenbaum explains the lack of historical examples</ref>