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Read Ebook: Jewels and the woman: The romance magic and art of feminine adornment by Ostier Marianne

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Ebook has 871 lines and 75255 words, and 18 pages

THE BIRTHSTONES

THE EARLIEST USES 23 EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST 26 WESTWARD TO THE GREEKS 29 ETRUSCAN ACHIEVEMENTS 30 THE ROMAN CONQUEST 31 THE VOGUE OF THE PEARL 41 ROMAN LUXURY 42 THE TIDE TURNS EAST 42 EASTWARD TO INDIA 43 OVER THE CHINESE WALL 44 DARK AGE OF THE DIAMOND 45 TRIBES TO THE NORTH 45 THE CELTS AND THE EMERALD ISLE 46 THE ANGLO-SAXONS 47 JEWELS IN ENGLISH HISTORY 47 EDWARD THE CONFESSOR'S JEWELS 48 GROWTH OF THE GOLDSMITHS' GUILD 48 THE ITALIANS IN THE RENAISSANCE 49 THE RENAISSANCE ACROSS EUROPE 50 THE REFORMATION 51 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 52 ON THE ROMANTICS 53 INTO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 54 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 55

WHAT THE STONES ARE 57 THE GEMS 58 DIAMOND 58 RUBY 60 SAPPHIRE 62 EMERALD 63 PEARL 64 OTHER STONES 67 ALEXANDRITE 68 AMETHYST 68 AQUAMARINE 69 BERYL 69 CARNELIAN 70 CAT'S-EYE 70 CHALCEDONY 71 CHRYSOBERYL 71 CHRYSOLITE 71 CHRYSOPRASE 72 CITRINE 72 CORAL 72 GARNET 73 HYACINTH 74 JACINTH 74 JADE 74 JASPER 75 JET 75 KUNZITE 76 LAPIS LAZULI 76 MALACHITE 77 MOONSTONE 77 ONYX 77 OPAL 78 PERIDOT 79 QUARTZ 79 SARD 80 SARDONYX 80 SPINEL 80 TOPAZ 81 TOURMALINE 81 TURQUOISE 82 ZIRCON 82

THE SEASONS 83 THE DAYS OF THE WEEK 84 SUNDAY 84 MONDAY 84 TUESDAY 85 WEDNESDAY 85 THURSDAY 85 FRIDAY 86 SATURDAY 86 THE MONTHS 87 TABLE OF BIRTHSTONES 87 JANUARY--GARNET 88 FEBRUARY--AMETHYST 89 MARCH--AQUAMARINE 90 APRIL--DIAMOND 91 MAY--EMERALD 92 JUNE--PEARL 94 JULY--RUBY 96 AUGUST--SARDONYX OR PERIDOT 97 SEPTEMBER--SAPPHIRE 99 OCTOBER--OPAL 100 NOVEMBER--TOPAZ 102 DECEMBER--TURQUOISE 104 SIGNS OF THE STARS 113 THE ZODIAC 113 ARIES, THE RAM 114 TAURUS, THE BULL 114 GEMINI, THE TWINS 115 CANCER, THE CRAB 115 LEO, THE LION 115 VIRGO, THE VIRGIN 115 LIBRA, THE SCALES 116 SCORPIO, THE SCORPION 116 SAGITTARIUS, THE ARCHER 116 CAPRICORN, THE GOAT 116 AQUARIUS, THE WATER CARRIER 117 PISCES, THE FISHES 117

ROYAL CROWNS OF BRITAIN 122 EVERYWOMAN'S QUEEN 123 A STONE'S BEST SETTING 123 TYPES OF WOMEN 124 THE MAJOR METALS 125 THE BASIC DESIGNS 125

THE SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF THE EARCLIP 127 EARRINGS THROUGH THE AGES 127 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EARS 129 THE EARCLIP AND THE FACIAL CONTOUR 130 THE SHAPE OF YOUR FACE 131 DETAILS OF THE FACE 132 VERSATILE EARCLIPS 133 THE HAIR AND THE EARCLIP 133 THE BRUNETTE 134 THE DARK-HAIRED 134 THE REDHEAD 135 THE BLONDE 135 AS THE HAIR TURNS GREY 136 IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTING EARCLIPS 136

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE NECKLACE 139 THE GENERAL EFFECT 140 THE DIAMOND NECKLACE 141 THE RIVI?RE 141 THE BAGUETTE NECKLACE 142 THE PEARL NECKLACE 142 THE COLORS OF THE PEARL 143 FOR THE BRUNETTE 143 FOR THE BLONDE AND THE REDHEAD 144 FOR A LONG NECK 144 FOR A WIDE NECK 145 SIZE OF PEARLS 145 THE PROPER STRINGING OF PEARLS 145 THE NECKLACE CLASP 146 DESIGNS FOR CLASPS 146 FOR FORMAL WEAR 147 THE SENTIMENTAL CLASP 148 FITTING THE PEARL NECKLACE 148 THE BEAD NECKLACE 149 FASHIONS FROM INDIA 149 OTHER NECKLACE JEWELS 150 THE NECKLACE OF GOLD 151 APPENDAGES: THE TASSEL 152 APPENDAGES: THE SINGLE DROP 152 TRANSFORMATIONS 153 MY OWN CONVERSIONS 153 WHAT A WOMAN WEARS, OTHERS SEE 154

THE GIVING OF A RING 157 CONSIDER THE HAND 158 PROPORTIONS OF THE HAND 158 THE DIAMOND RING: THE ENGAGEMENT RING 159 THE WEDDING RING 160 THE WEARING OF THE BAND 161 THE PEARL RING 162 THE BLACK PEARL 162 DECORATIVE RINGS 163 MATCHED WITH EARCLIPS 164 INTERCHANGEABLE CENTERS 164 RING SIZES 165 RINGS AND NAIL POLISH 166 ABOUT WEARING A RING 166

EARLY USES 169 THE EMPERORS OF INDIA 169 VARIOUS MATERIALS 170 TYPES OF BRACELETS 170 FAVORITE SHAPES 171 THE SPECIAL CLASP 171 BRACELET WIDTH 172 FOR THE SLIM ARM 172 FOR THE HEAVIER WRIST 172 FITTING A BRACELET 173 GENERAL THOUGHTS 173 THE ANKLET 174

ELABORATE PINS 175 THE SIMPLER CLIP 176 ITS VERSATILITY 176 ITS PERSONALITY 185 THE CHANGE IN THE BROOCH 185 THE OLD DOUBLE CLIP 186 THE NEW DOUBLE CLIP 187 THE ABSTRACT DESIGN 187 THE FLOWER DESIGN 188 EARLIER FLOWERS 189 CURRENT VARIETIES 190 THE ROSE 190 THE SKINPIN 191 THE SCATTERPIN 191 THE JEWELLED HAIRPIN 192 THE MOBILE CLIP 192 THE SENTIMENTAL BROOCH 193 REPLICAS OF PETS 194 PINS HOLD MEMORIES 194 PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES 195

QUEEN ELIZABETH I 197 PRINCESS SOPHIA 197 EARLY FORMS 198 WHERE TO WEAR THE WATCH 199 JEWELLED HOURS 200 IN FRONT OF YOUR MIRROR 202

EN ROUTE 208 WEEKEND 208 GARDEN PARTY 209 THE BEACH 209 ON THE GOLF COURSE 210 AT THE RACES 210 BUSINESS LUNCHEONS 211 THE CHARITY LUNCHEON 212 OPENING NIGHT 212 MATCHING THE GOWN 213 MATCHING THE MAN 213 SOME BASIC RULES 214 THE DINNER PARTY 215 THE WATCH 216 THE CIGARETTE CASE 216 THE HOSTESS 216 AT THE WHITE HOUSE 217 THE PRESIDENT'S DINNER 218 THE CAPTAIN'S DINNER 218 EMBASSY PARTIES 220 MEETING ROYALTY 221 CORONATION 221 A QUEEN'S CROWN 222 WHEN EVERY WOMAN IS QUEEN 223 THE BRIDESMAIDS 224 THE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE 225 THE WEDDING GUESTS 225 THE NEWBORN 226 THE ANNIVERSARY 227 TABLE OF ANNIVERSARY GIFTS 227 THE MORE SOLEMN TIME 228 AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE 229 IN MOURNING 229 OTHER OBSERVATIONS 230 COLOR COMBINATIONS 230 RESTRAINT 230 EYEGLASSES 231 THE LORGNETTE 231 THE CORSAGE 232 EMBROIDERY 232 MORE ABOUT BRACELETS 232 MORE ABOUT RINGS 234 GOLD JEWELS 234 IN THE SPOTLIGHT 234

GIVE YOURSELF 237 GIFTS OF LASTING VALUE 238 GIFTS TO THE BABY 238 TO THE MOTHER TOO 239 AS THE CHILD GROWS 239 ST. VALENTINE'S DAY 239 COLLEGE DAYS 240 THE WEDDING DAY 240 FOR THE BRIDESMAIDS 241 FOR THE USHERS 241 OTHER GIFTS TO THE BRIDE 242 PARENTS' DAYS 242 FOR LATER BIRTHDAYS 243 GIFTS FOR THE MAN 244 THE WIFE'S ROLE 244 THE RIGHT ACCESSORIES 245 THE PERSONAL TOUCH 245 SPECIAL GIFTS 246 HISTORIC GIFTS 246 THE PRESENTATION OF A GIFT 247

DEFINITIONS 259 LIGHT ON THE STONES 260 STAR GEMS 260 THE PEARL 261 CUTTING THE STONES 261 CABOCHON 262 FACETS 262 TYPES OF FACETING 263 HARDNESS OF THE STONES 264 QUALITIES OF A STONE 267 MEASUREMENT 268 THE PRECIOUS METALS 268 ALLOYS 269

HOW TO CARE FOR JEWELS 271 HOME CARE 271 CLEANING DON'TS 272 PEARLS 272 REMINDERS 273 MORE CAUTIONING 274 FOR TRAVEL 274 INSURANCE 275 THE TRAVELING CASE 275 REGISTERING JEWELS 276 TRAVELING CAUTIONS 277

THE OLD AND THE ANTIQUE 279 OLD JEWELRY WITH NEW POSSIBILITIES 280 THE CONTEMPORARY JEWELS 281 MODERN MOVEMENT 281 THE JEWELER AS ARTIST 283 VARIED STONES 283 VARIED TREATMENT 284 REMODELLING OF WATCHES 285 ADDING PEARLS 285 INFINITE RICHES IN A LITTLE ROOM 286

THE UNIVERSAL RING 289 THE MAGIC RING 289 DIVINING RINGS 290 RENAISSANCE REMEDY RINGS 291 VISIBILITY RINGS 292 RELIGIOUS RINGS 293 PRACTICAL RINGS 294 POISON RINGS 295 HONORARY RINGS 296 POSIES AND LOVERS' RINGS 296 THE NUPTIAL RING 298 LESS SOLEMN MARRIAGE RINGS 299 COUNTING FINGERS 301 MEMORIAL RINGS 302

THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY 305 OTHER PRECIOUS STONES 306 THE CRYSTAL PALACE 307 THE DIAMONDS 307 THE KOHINOOR 308 TAVERNIER 310 THE FLORENTINE 310 THE GREAT MOGUL 311 THE ORLOFF 311 THE SHAH OF PERSIA 312 THE GREAT TABLE 313 THE BLUE TAVERNIER 313 THE HOPE 314 THE JEHAN AKBAR SHAH 315 THE CULLINAN 315 THE EXCELSIOR 316 THE REGENT 316 THE SANCY 318 OUT OF THE EARTH 319

THE BIRTHSTONES, COLORPLATES

The costumes and jewels of the courtiers of Elizabeth I of England were surpassed by those of the Queen only in the measure of her superior station. Since then, however, the attire of men has grown increasingly functional, sedate, and commonplace, while that of women has retained its freedom of color and flow. And the great world of jewelry is preeminently the woman's domain.

Scientists in several fields have sought the reasons for this change; we may rest content with the fact. A man may be thought distinguished, or perhaps handsome; only a woman may be called beautiful. And by proper adornment of apparel and jewelry, every woman seeks to enhance her beauty.

Certain austere sects frown upon "artificial" aids to beauty. In the hills of Pennsylvania are honest women whose lips and cheeks have never been touched by added color. But such persons are outside the main path of human progress. For the quest of beauty--surely a legitimate and a desirable quest--has taken the same path as the other great adventures of man, which have placed him supreme among all living creatures.

Look at the problem of security. The bear can strike a tremendous blow with his paw. The tiger springs with fierce gash of fang and claw. The eagle pounces with deadly talon and beak. Beside these, how puny the fist of man! But the bear, the tiger, the eagle remain with but these weapons, while man closed his tiny hand around a club, then hurled a spear, then winged his bow with arrows, shot forth his bullets and his bombs. While the animals mark a dead end of evolution, man continued to evolve by "artificial" extensions of his powers.

The same is true in every field. The news of the victory of Marathon was borne by a runner, who coursed the twenty-four miles, gasped out his word of triumph, and dropped dead. Since then man has harnessed the ox, mounted the horse, and surpassed all other creatures in means of travel upon and within the waters, across the earth, high and higher in the air.

So in the realm of beauty. First man painted his naked body. Then he adorned himself with claws and teeth torn from the animals, with feathers plucked from the birds. Soon he discovered the sheen of precious metals, the sparkle of gems. The progress of adornment, from ancient Egypt to the twentieth century world, has been marked by the further discovery and refinement of metals and the design of jewels. Synthetic gems and costume jewelry have given to every woman opportunities once limited to the wealthy few; the principles applicable to the wearing of costly jewels are the same for their less expensive cousins. And the pattern of the quest of personal beauty is in line with the general pattern of human evolution.

Although we have approached beauty through these somewhat solemn reflections, we must not forget that the best reflection of beauty is in the admiring eye of the beholder. It is a mutual pleasure; but it is a personal, an individual task. For it is every woman's duty--not merely to herself but to those around--to present her fairest aspect to the world.

To the old remark: Love is blind, the cynic has added: But marriage is an eye-opener. Of course, neither statement is true. While love may fasten upon and prize other qualities, the lover is usually keenly aware of the measure of his beloved's beauty. He takes increasing pride and pleasure as she finds fresh ways of enhancing her natural gifts. There is a lesson hidden in the statement that if a woman is beautiful at fifteen she may thank God, but if she is beautiful at fifty she has herself to thank. The lesson is that a woman can learn what is seemly, what is becoming, what adds to her beauty.

One may look at precious stones and magnificent jewels ranged in a museum or in a store. When they are being worn, we look not so much at them as at the ensemble they help to create of a live alluring woman. The Crown Jewels in the Tower of London are imposing. When they are worn on occasions of state, the court regalia combine to keep them imposing still: it is less a person than a position that they adorn. But with the rest of us mortals, as even with queens in less stately hours, the jewels must fit the person and the personality, as well as the occasion.

What looks most attractive against the dark velvet on a counter may fail to harmonize with golden glinting hair. The size of the earlobe, the figure of the woman, the color of the dress, the activity of the evening, all are factors in determining which jewels one should wear. Jewels have a long history, but always an immediate test of use. In both aspects, they hold an ever present allure.

MARIANNE OSTIER

PART ONE

There are as many guesses about the origin of adornment as about the origin of language. The most popular theories might be called the functional, the magical, and the aesthetic.

When man first felt cold, says the functional theory--or when he first felt shame and hid his shame with the fig leaf--he had to find some way of fastening his garments. The leaves, the furs, the hides, would slip off unless adequately held together, especially when the man was running in swift hunt, or the woman bending under domestic burdens. The first fastenings were probably strands of vinestalks, lashes of interlaced leaves. Then pins made of long thorns, of wood, or of the bones of animals came into use. Pins of the last sort have been found in prehistoric caves. Naturally, iron, bronze, silver and gold pins followed, as the use of these metals became known. Crude safety pins, in form essentially the same as those we use today, have been unearthed in the most ancient tombs.

On even the earliest pins, however, and especially on the domed backs of safety pins and clasps, there are curious carvings of dots and circles and other forms, which give scope to the second theory of the origin of adornment, the magical. For along with these fasteners are found necklaces of beads and other adornments that served no practical end--except the very important purpose of placating the gods, of warding off evil.

The telling of rosary beads, widespread today in Moslem as in Catholic lands, is a milder modern aid to prayer; in primitive times the need for protection was no less frequent and more desperate. Those of us who carry a rabbit's foot or other charm, who put an amulet in our automobile to help us drive safely, who still "knock wood" to keep away mischance, need not smile at our far-off ancestors who engraved their beads with potent symbols or wore a scarab, preferably carved of precious stone, to keep all ills away. Charms and amulets were on every neck and arm. The devils were all about; they whirled in the tempest; they sprang suddenly in the form of a wild beast; they twisted one's ankle as a jungle vine. And every stone-age child knew that the agate protected one against thunder and against tiger bite. If the agate was ringed like an eye, especially a tiger's eye, it could outstare and drive away the fiercest fiend. To turn away the fangs of the venomous hidden snake, what better charm than lapis lazuli? Thus each of the colored stones known to the ancients had its special powers, or could be carved with symbols and signs of might--and jewels were worn to ward off all misfortune. Even among the ancient Greeks, it was recognized that there is no amulet that can save one from "the bite of a sycophant."

The third theory of the origin of adornment, the aesthetic, declares that man is born with a love of beauty. There is no question--and if there were, modern research has answered it--that the bright trinket attracts the babe. When one is happy one wants to sing; when one sees beauty, one wants to experience it with the gift of sight or, if it is tangible, to put it on. And ever to increase earth's store of beauty. We cannot snare a sunrise, but we can make a garland of spring flowers. Even before he fashioned beads, primitive man adorned himself with necklaces of shells, of bears' claws, stags' teeth--probably also of many colored berries, but these have crumbled in the caves. Such findings are so widespread that Carlyle declared: "The first spiritual want of a barbarous man is decoration."

Since the question of origins is buried in surmise, it seems fair to follow that eminent advocate of the middle way, Sir Roger de Coverley, and allow that there is something to be said for all three theories. Each impulse, to hold up clothing, to ward off evil, to enjoy beauty--power, protection, pleasure--may have had a share in the birth of adornment. It is true that there are paintings and statues, in the early tombs, of women clad only in their jewels. But while queens, and the concubines of kings might be thus untrammeled in their quest of beauty, humbler folk at work needed workaday attire. And always the magicians, the medicine men, then the priests, wove their holy spells, with mitre and chalice and ring inscribed with the secret words of power. A monarch of early times was an impressive sight, as not only his rings, his armlets and neckpiece, but his breastplate, the buckle of his belt, and the hilt of his sword were carved with sacred symbols and crusted with precious stones. Here were protection, power, and grandeur intertwined.

Perhaps the earliest jewelry to which we can attach an owner's name was in the find unearthed in 1901 by Flinders Petrie in the royal tombs at Abydos. It is a bracelet of golden hawks, rising from alternate blocks of turquoise and gold, and it belonged to the Egyptian Queen of Zer back in 5400 B.C. Somewhat later lived the Princess Knumit, whose mummy was adorned with all manner of jewels, anklets, bracelets, armlets, headbands, including a serpent necklace of beads of gold, silver, carnelian, lapis lazuli, and emerald, and hieroglyphics wrought in gold with inlaid gems. From Chaldea, as early as 3000 B.C., we have beads, and jewelry of lapis lazuli, and headdresses of finely beaten gold.

A panel in one of the pyramids gives us a realistic picture of the interior of a jeweler's shop of long ago. The master craftsman, his bookkeeper, his workers and his apprentices are all busy at their tasks. We see them selecting, cutting, grinding, firing, shaping, setting, polishing, with tools that have changed little in 3000 years. The jewels we know today are all present there: diadems, earrings, brooches, bracelets, rings, girdles, anklets. The necklace seems to have been, in most cases, a wide tight band, almost a collar; on many a mummy such a "choker" has been preserved, studded with jewels, the gold between often in the shape of a falcon, or a lotus, or a sphinx. Favorite among the designs, of course, was the scarab; in the mummy itself, a scarab was inserted to take the place of the heart.

Two ornaments common in ancient Egypt are not found in use today. One is the pectoral, a great bejeweled breastpiece, usually hung from the neck. The other is the golden wig cover. The great men and women of the eighteenth century B.C. wore long black wigs . Close-fitting over these black wigs were joined rows of gold bands or medallions, beaten fine, fastened together, forming a complete cover that reached to the shoulders. The bands bore hieroglyphics, the medallions were usually shaped like heads of man or beast. One other difference from later times: for the snuffbox of the eighteenth century A.D., or the cigarette lighter of the twentieth, society folk in ancient Egypt carried a perfume box.

The Egyptians had many rings, including signet rings. These were intaglios; that is, the design was cut into, hollowed out of, the metal or stone, so that when the ring was pressed on clay or wax it would leave a raised design like a cameo. The design might be a god, or a sacred animal such as a scarab or a sphinx, usually with an indication of the identity of the owner. Thus the King's seal, and especially the King's signet ring if borne by a messenger, carried the royal authority. Jezebel, wife of Ahab, King of the Israelites, used the seal of her royal spouse on the letters she wrote to destroy Naboth, whose vineyard they coveted.

The Israelites, indeed, wore rings on their fingers, in their nostrils, in their ears, and we are told that when they walked there was a tinkling about their feet. They also wore a gem pressed into the soft side of the nostril, a favorite spot for display through the Near East, still adorned by a gem among the Bedouins and the Hindus of today. The Israelites gave of these jewels in great quantity to adorn the Tabernacle that was built in the wilderness--and also for the making of the Golden Calf.

Oriental tales have many accounts of magic rings. One of the most elaborate deals with Gyges, a Lydian noble to whom King Candaules, proud of the possession of a beautiful wife, displayed her in her undraped beauty. The resourceful Gyges descended into a chasm of the earth, where he found a brazen horse with a human carcass in its belly. From the body Gyges took a ring which, when he turned the stone inward, made him invisible. Thus fortified, Gyges entered the palace and murdered the king. The widow, Nyssia, married him; he reigned thirty-eight years, from 716 to 678 B.C., with the help of the ring becoming so powerful and so rich that men spoke proverbially of "the wealth of Gyges."

Although jewelry was a preeminent concern of the Egyptians, because they must be adorned not only in this world but in the next, it was a lively preoccupation throughout the Near East, the cradle of civilization. Babylonian and Assyrian tombs yield treasures in splendidly mounted jewels. A description of the goddess Ishtar, descending through the Seven Gates to the ultimate world, pictures her at each gate putting aside a separate jewel, finger rings, toe rings, necklace, earrings, armlet, brooch, girdle: she passes through the final gate in unadorned beauty.

Among the jewels of ancient Persia, from the fourth century B.C., is a great necklace of three rows of pearls, almost 500 pearls in all, half of them still well preserved across the flight of twenty-five centuries.

Originators are held by their new problems to a sort of modesty in design. Imitators often--striving to outdo--overdo. The Greeks grew far more elaborate than their predecessors. The great Greek sculptors were delighted with the human figure which posed sufficient problems, either bare or simply draped. But outside of statuary, and after the great fifth and fourth centuries, the wealthy Greeks in their ways of life had caught the fever of display. Their jewelry must surpass that of the eastern barbarians to whom they were bringing the benefits of Greek culture. From every medallion of a necklace, for example, might hang a pendant. And this pendant might be a tiny golden vase, which contained perfume--each vase a different fragrance--or which might open to reveal a series of figures--as, later, baroque rosary beads opened to reveal, in minute carving, episodes in the life of the Virgin Mary.

A portrait of Alexander the Great was a favorite figure, in many materials and forms. Although Alexander gave one artist exclusive right to reproduce his likeness after his death, as this monopoly lapsed there was a boom on "good luck" jeweled representations of the man who wept because there were no more worlds for him to conquer.

The Greeks did not ape all the antics of the Phoenicians, some of whose high-born ladies pierced the entire rim of their ears, as well as the lobe, each jewel in its eyelet supporting a pendant stone. The Greeks used but one ornament per ear; but these grew larger and larger, more and more weighted with metal and studded with jewels, and so were finally worn suspended from a diadem or a cloth band.

Alexander's conquests having taken the Greeks into farther lands and introduced them to unsuspected splendors of the Orient, they carried home gems that before had been unfamiliar to them: the topaz, the amethyst, the aquamarine.

In Italy, meanwhile, the Etruscans had brought the work of the goldsmith and the lapidary to a high peak of artistry. They developed the swivel ring, in which the mounted gem or special charm might be turned about, so that any face of it could be displayed. Thus the carvings on the belly of a scarab became as important as the design on its back.

The Etruscans also made circular or oval bands of earrings and necklaces, within which a pendant might hang free, a gently swinging precious stone or golden charm. From their necklaces often hung a hollow pendant, in which an amulet might be placed. They made many headpieces, bands, wreaths, and pins of beaten or granulated gold.

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