Costume or fashion jewelry includes a range of decorative items worn for personal adornment that are manufactured as less expensive ornamentation to complement a particular fashionable outfit or garment as opposed to "real" (fine) jewelry, which is more costly and which may be regarded primarily as collectibles, keepsakes, or investments. From the outset, costume jewelry — also known as fashion jewelry — paralleled the styles of its more precious fine counterparts.
Jewellery consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western perspective, the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal such as gold often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as glass, shells and other plant materials may be used.
A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, such as charms. Medical and identity information are marked on some bracelets, such as allergy bracelets, hospital patient-identification tags, and bracelet tags for newborn babies. Bracelets may be worn to signify a certain phenomenon, such as breast cancer awareness, or for religious/cultural purposes.
A ring is a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry. The term "ring" by itself denotes jewellery worn on the finger; when worn as an ornament elsewhere, the body part is specified within the term, e.g., earrings, neck rings, arm rings, and toe rings. Rings fit snugly around or in the part of the body they ornament, so bands worn loosely, like a bracelet, are not rings. Rings may be made of almost any hard material: wood, bone, stone, metal, glass, jade, gemstone or plastic. They may be set with gemstones or with other types of stone or glass.
Jewelry of the Etruscan civilization existed in several eras.
Damiani S.p.A or Damiani Group, is an Italian luxury jewelry corporate group that designs, manufactures, distributes and sells jewelry and luxury watches. It was founded in Italy in 1924. The company uses celebrity endorsements to market its products. In the early 2000s the company had a dispute with Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston regarding the use of their names and wedding ring designs. The dispute was settled for $50 million and the couple helped Damiani create and market a line of products. Damiani expanded across Asia and the US. It went public in 2007 and its most well-known jewelry product brands are Calderoni, Salvini, Alfieri & St. John and Bliss.
Cathy Waterman is a California based jewelry designer and a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. She designs “ethereal, feminine, lyrical” jewelry using recycled metals and fair trade stones.
Gail Bird and Yazzie Johnson are Southwest American Indian artists known for their innovative jewelry which uses varied stones and blends both contemporary and prehistoric design motifs.
The Love Bracelet is a piece of jewelry designed in 1969 by Aldo Cipullo and offered to Cartier SA. Early versions of the Love Bracelet featured gold plating, while more recent designs are created from solid gold or platinum. Prices for the bracelets differ depending on the item's materials. As of 2019, the Love Bracelet is still in production and Cartier has expanded the line to include products based on the original bracelet's design, including cufflinks, rings, earrings, necklaces, and watches. In 2006 the line was considered to be the "most successful collection in Cartier's history."
James Avery Artisan Jewelry is a Texas-based, family-owned company that specializes in designing hand-crafted rings, bracelets, necklaces, charms, earrings, and other jewelry. Its founder, James Avery, first started crafting jewelry in Kerrville, Texas in 1954 out of his (then) mother-in-law's garage. Over time, the company expanded and became well-known for its distinctive designs and attention to detail. The business has grown to more than 120 of its own stores across Texas, Georgia, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The company has studios, workshops and manufacturing facilities in Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Cedar Park, Comfort, Hondo and Corpus Christi. There are more than 3,000 regular James Avery employees across all its locations.
Native American jewelry refers to items of personal adornment, whether for personal use, sale or as art; examples of which include necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings and pins, as well as ketohs, wampum, and labrets, made by one of the Indigenous peoples of the United States. Native American jewelry normally reflects the cultural diversity and history of its makers, but tribal groups have often borrowed and copied designs and methods from other, neighboring tribes or nations with which they had trade, and this practice continues today. Native American tribes continue to develop distinct aesthetics rooted in their personal artistic visions and cultural traditions. Artists may create jewelry for adornment, ceremonies, and display, or for sale or trade. Lois Sherr Dubin writes, "[i]n the absence of written languages, adornment became an important element of Indian communication, conveying many levels of information." Later, jewelry and personal adornment "...signaled resistance to assimilation. It remains a major statement of tribal and individual identity."
Alexandre Reza was a Paris-based jeweler known for his diverse and rare collection of precious gemstones. He is lauded as the greatest gem collector of modern times.
Henry Paul Dunay was an American goldsmith and jewelry designer, best known for his fine scratched surface technique known as Sabi.
Ippolita Rostagno is an Italian-American jewelry designer based in New York City.
Alex and Ani is an American retailer and producer of jewelry located in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Pandora A/S is a Danish jewelry manufacturer and retailer founded in 1982 by Per Enevoldsen. The company started as a family-run jewellery shop in Copenhagen.
Ancient Roman jewelry was characterized by an interest in colored gemstones and glass, in contrast with their Greek predecessors who focused primarily on the production of high-quality metalwork by practiced artisans. Extensive control of Mediterranean territories provided an abundance of natural resources to utilize in jewelry making. Participation in trade allowed access to both semi-precious and precious stones that traveled down the Persian Silk Road from the East.
Donna Chambers is an American Jewellery Designer based in White Plains, New York. She is known for designs featuring pearls and antique mother of pearl gambling chips. Chambers' jewellery has been carried by major department stores such as Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Na Hoku and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Maria Tash is a jewelry designer and retailer. Tash founded the eponymous Maria Tash, a New York-based luxury piercing and fine jewelry brand. The brand specializes in body piercing, ear curation, and fine jewelry design. Originally founded in New York City in 1993, Maria Tash has since expanded globally.
Aquae Jewels is a jewelry manufacturing company based in Dubai. It was founded by Catherine Klastersky in 2011.
