

We’ve even created our own new, sacred symbols - the Cartier Love bracelet, for example, with its distinctive locking mechanism, is an understated and modernist symbol of love’s promise (with its own captivating history to boot). Hoop earrings are imbued with symbolism and cultural significance for many, and on view in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Ancient Near Eastern Art Gallery is a pair of simple gold hoops from Mesopotamia dating to between 26 B.C.

Antique, new and vintage engagement rings, even if it can be difficult to choose the right one, are still widely recognized as symbols of love and commitment. Rings, which have always been signifiers of eternity, still serve as romantic gifts and tokens of affection. When King Tut’s burial chamber was excavated, it revealed a sense of style that inspired Art Deco jewelry designs.īrooches and pins remain essentials in our jewelry boxes, although we no longer require them to fasten our garments, as was once their primary use. While materials and processes employed by the world’s most popular jewelry houses - Tiffany & Co., Cartier, BVLGARI and others - have evolved over time, humans still gravitate toward many of the same accessories that our ancestors wore.Īncient Egyptians were often hard at work designing jewelry and adorning themselves with an array of necklaces, rings and other items, and nearly every Egyptian, rich or poor, was buried with some kind of jewelry. Jewelry has long been a symbol of spiritual strength, wealth or power and, of course, a means of personal expression. Our love for diamond rings, luxury watches and other antique and vintage fine jewelry and estate jewelry goes back thousands of years.
