Whether you have purchased it yourself or it has been given as a gift for you to use, the reasons for you to be wearing jewelry would seem to be self-evident and to have changed little over the centuries. Perhaps, appearance for you is the principal motivation that you wear jewelry. Metal and other ornaments, long regarded as beautiful and elegant in themselves, are believed to enhance the appearance of and work wonders for you, the wearer.

While the effect on appearance is true to a very large part, it is only part of the story. Because of their precious value and inner luster, jewelry is still heavily loaded with symbolic values and associations, and there is every reason to believe that these symbolisms were at least as important in antiquity as they are in modernity, if not more so.

Whether you are a history buff or simply seeing handmade beaded jewelry worn by your favorite actresses, it is hard to look at the jewelry from the past and not take a look at the handmade jewelry that was worn then. While some of these pieces look unbearably clunky and old fashioned now, some would look right at home on today’s top fashion catwalks and expos. Jewelry, in all of its forms, has had a strong effect on the world and the fashions that were based off of it.

Early in history, jewelry was a mark of status of some sort. Perhaps the only people who could wear it were of religious importance, or perhaps they were the only people who could afford it. You’ll find that even though the handmade beaded jewelry from early eras seems primitive to our eyes that it was still crafted with care. For instance, the twisted torques, close fitting necklaces that were worn by the Celts, was often a sign of both manhood and wealth.