Terri Ramsey Beavers You won’t be surprised to hear that the jewelry market is massive. After all, everyone and their mother and their mother’s mother likely wears a piece of jewelry. Whether that’s a wedding band, simple earring studs, or something more extravagant, jewelry is a staple in humanity.
So, what numbers are we looking at here? Well, in 2019 alone, the global jewelry market was worth $330 billion. Wow!
If you’re a jewelry lover yourself, this article’s for you. We spotlight some fun and interesting facts about jewelry below. Keep reading.
1. Jewelry: It’s Nothing New
In fact, wearing jewelry is said to be as old as humanity itself.
Prehistoric humans used ornaments to decorate their bodies in body jewelry, https://www.boelry.
Seashells were one of the most ancient forms of jewelry, often adorned in these early stages of creating. Other jewelry came from interesting things like eagle talons, bones, snail shells, ostrich eggshells, stones—among many other organic materials. These items were used to create various types of jewelry, worn hundreds of thousands of years ago.
2. It’s for Men, Too
Okay, so you already knew this fact—but did you know that men in the past used to wear jewelry much more than they do today?
We’re talking kings with ruby-adorned clothing and pearl necklaces, Renaissance men with earrings, and of course, pirates with their dainty silver hoops.
Evolving beauty standards have influenced this fashion trend, but it’s safe to say that men can (and do) confidently rock things like gold studs, layered chains, and skull rings—like these from Badass Jewelry.
3. Sometimes, It Ain’t Cheap
Some jewelry really pushes the boundaries of the wallet.
Some of the most expensive jewelry currently in circulation include:
- A $100 million peacock-shaped brooch
- An $80 million, 35.56-carat, deep blue diamond from Wittelsbach-Graff
- A $72 million Pink Star diamond from South Africa
- A $27.44 million jadeite necklace from Cartier
These are fascinatingly high values, and they’re not alone in their class. Many other pieces of jewelry—plenty of them diamonds—rank in these same numbers.
4. Diamond in the Rough
You can’t talk about jewelry without talking about diamonds.
What size was the largest diamond ever found?
In 1905, in a South African mine called the Premier Mine, a 3,106-carat diamond was found by mere coincidence during a routine inspection. This massive diamond weighed a whopping 1.33 pounds—which may as well be tons in diamond weight!
It might pain you to hear that the Cullinan, as the diamond was later named, did not stay whole. In fact, it was divided up into nine large diamonds and 100 smaller ones, each valued at millions of dollars.
So Many Fun Facts About Jewelry!
There’s so much to learn about jewelry as creative expression, about the various types of jewelry, and where it all came from.
Hopefully, the above jewelry information got you excited to learn even more facts about jewelry, of which there is plenty. We’ve only dipped our toes in the shallow end.
Before you go, though, keep scrolling our page. We write about every topic under the sun!
Image Attribution:
Adobe Stock royalty-free image #105662520, ‘Young woman buying a golden necklace with blue gemstones and paying with a credit card’ uploaded by Andrey Bandurenko, standard license purchased from ; file retrieved on January 4th, 2019. License details available at – image is licensed under the Adobe Stock Standard License.