The Middle Ages represent a stage in history that left many advances and changes for human beings in various areas, which marked behavior patterns and determined the adoption of norms, theories and laws in the world of sciences and arts. Full of famous people, some Machiavellian, others of great value to humanity, the Middle Ages also had a place for jewels as symbols of power, of conquest of countries and empires.
At this stage a great protagonist was Rome, where procedures and techniques prevailed in the world of jewelry, which continued to be practiced even after its fall. This is how the barbarian tribes from Eastern Europe, who knew very well how to handle metals, proceeded after the conquest to combine the Byzantine alveolar tradition with the most emblematic Roman traditions, such as gold filigree and the fibula, giving way to creative variations used for centuries.
This mastery of metals by the conquerors of Rome made the artisans and/or goldsmiths use gold and silver to make their creations. In this way, they effectively took advantage of the gold that came mainly from Byzantine and Arab coinage, which became the main element in the manufacture of jewelry.
Therefore, much of the gold used in late medieval jewelry came from the recycling of old coins, jewelry, or other gold objects, managing to accumulate the gold reserve of all of Europe, mostly at the court of the Byzantine emperors; so little gold circulated in the Western world.
However, there was another way to obtain the gold necessary for the creation of the desired jewels, and they resorted to the exploitation of the mines of Nigeria and the Gold Coast. As for the silver, it came from the Melle mines in France, and the mines of Sardinia in Italy, as well as elsewhere in Germany, Saxony, and Prague.
In this way, jewelry acquired a significant importance, beginning the carving of precious stones at the end of the 16th century to incorporate them into gold and silver designs, evidencing a great boom in this sector with the conquest of America by Spain, from where they carried the noble metals that nurtured the great company of luxury jewelry.
In this order of ideas, gold and silver were generally accompanied by precious stones such as sapphires and rubies from the East, emeralds brought from Egypt, turquoise from Persia and Tibet and amethysts from Russia and Germany, rock crystals from Germany, Switzerland and France, as well as opals and garnets originating from Eastern Europe.
Another of the widely used precious stones was amber, which came from the fossilized resin of pine trees, and which abounded on the shores of the Baltic Sea and in the Königsberg region, in East Prussia. Also, the practical jet was used in jewelry, which was formed thanks to the fossilized remains of trees, and was often found near the coal deposits of Whitby, in England and Spain.
On the other hand, the famous pearls were extracted from existing freshwater molluscs in the rivers of Scotland; that the goldsmiths set in metals or sewed them into clothing, while the coral was extracted from the Mediterranean, generally on the coast of North Africa.
It should be noted that, in the centuries that the European Middle Ages lasted, the jewels were for the exclusive use of the members of the royal families, nobles, rich merchants, religious, considering each garment created by the goldsmiths a privilege of the aristocracy, which He ordered his favorite pieces to be made exclusively.
This importance of the jewels of the Middle Ages went beyond their material or decorative value, but rather they were used to convey meanings and connotations of a social, religious and even political order, thus constituting a fundamental part of medieval sign language. For this reason, the use of a jewel by these characters represented their hierarchy, power and authority, also attributing to it the power to cure diseases and/or cast spells, as well as a symbol of courtly love that were given to loved ones at events. specials.
In this sense, precious stones represented sumptuous gifts for weddings, religious ceremonies or other occasions, which the user could later use to have a particular jewel made, giving them great value and importance, so that both stones, beads and Other broken objects were recycled to obtain some other jewel, or to have them as a reserve due to their great value, increasing the custom of keeping a reserve of precious stones, especially in the case of goldsmiths who frequently mounted them in rings. or they were fixed in wax to preserve them, although they were also kept loose and wrapped in a cloth bag.
As for the people who made the jewelry, it should be noted that at this stage of history, the jewelry was not made by craftsmen but by specialized goldsmiths who designed and created a wide variety of objects, such as crosses, candlesticks, tombs. , chalices, patens, reliquaries, plates, book covers, staffs, luxury utensils, coins, stamps, among others.
These goldsmiths created jewelry by combining gold and silver with precious stones that were frequently decorated with ancient cameos, which were figures carved in relief on hard stones, eliminating the area surrounding the figure so that it would stand out and make the image visible. desired image, they also used the so-called intaglios, which was also achieved with a carving that produced a sunken or negative relief.
Ancient cameos and intaglios became very popular and began to be imitated, to the point where even gem cuts were largely developed in imitation of classical models. But, while in the Middle Ages of Western Europe only low-quality imitations of these ancient cameos were known, in Byzantium these techniques and procedures were effectively perfected to the point that their carved stones were imported to the West, enduring as a tradition for the entire Middle Ages.
This creative process in the world of jewelry led to an increase in long-distance trade, through which not only gold, silver and precious stones were obtained, but also the jewelry was sold in other places, increasing the use of brooches, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, among other jewelry.
It should be noted that circular brooches were one of the most common jewels in the 11th century, while enameled rings and pendants with religious motifs, where the crucifix prevailed, represented typical pieces of medieval jewellery. In addition, during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, necklaces and pendants attached to clothing became an important part of the attire of kings and nobles of the time.
This is how jewelry developed in such a way that creativity and diversity increased in the designs of goldsmiths who saw in religious devotion an element to incorporate rosaries with gold, jet, amber, ivory, coral or mother-of-pearl beads. It should be noted that gold was the main base of these pieces that were destined for the most powerful and wealthy classes, while silver was used as a substitute for gold in much simpler designs, suitable for the lower classes.
On the other hand, enamel was widely used in the jewels created at this stage, one of the famous being the so-called «Swan Jewel of Dunstable», which was a gold pendant completely covered by an opaque white enamel, made in London. around the year 1400, whose function is unknown and which is currently in the British Museum in London.
Subsequently, the enamel was replaced by diamonds, gold, silver or pearl button adornments in buckles encrusted with large rhinestones and/or rings of considerable sizes that were used indistinctly by both men and women, who gave it a seat of honor within of their jewelry and wore it everywhere, especially to important social events.
All that series of changes in jewelry was giving jewelry a significant status in the upper social classes, and represented a dream for ordinary citizens, who could not acquire them because most of the materials were expensive and the value increased enormously. of jewelry, however, this situation changed over time, depending on the availability of the material, market demand, and the general development of fashion.
In this context, the most expensive and appreciated precious stone until the end of the 13th century was the sapphire, but it later gave way to the ruby, and in the Late Middle Ages this trend changed to make the diamond the most expensive and desired stone, otherwise of the pearls that circulated in enormous quantity and were generally sold by weight, becoming more affordable for a greater number of people.
This caused the pearl market to grow, being the largest in Europe that of Venice, which in turn was an important counterfeiting center in the 13th century, standing out in imitations of Byzantine-style glass cameos, for which many buyers of the fourteenth century had to be aware of the frequent imitations that diminished their value.
Today these customs of falsifying and imitating garments are latent in our modern world, and jewels continue to be a symbol of power and hierarchy, which are used in their original form by the upper social classes, due to their high cost, leaving imitations or less expensive designs for the less privileged classes, who mostly want to wear some jewelry that gives them a certain prestige and good looks.