Gold Jewelry - A History of Quality, Beauty, and Meaning

How profound is the connection between man and gold? Very deep. The foundation of this connection can be seen through thousands of objects - archaeological and literary - demonstrating that people simply loved gold. They used gold for diverse purposes from means of payment, jewelry design, and decorations on buildings. Since the dawn of civilization, gold has been a status symbol representing the affluence of the wearer. In some cultures, gold was used as a religious symbol and were offered to the gods as a sacrifice. Even today, people use gold as a means to express a range of emotions and feelings, from love, forgiveness, and intimacy - as far as the most profound symbol of commitment in the shape of a wedding ring, which traditionally was made of gold.

Gold and what else? 

Although the color of gold is a unique characteristic, even in the most ancient of jewelry it’s possible to see how metalworkers of the time combined gold with other metals, for example with semi-precious stones such as opal and turquoise. In the Bible, in Deuteronomy, an item of clothing worn by the highest priest is described, which was a breastplate embroidered with threads of gold, light blue, purple, red and linen. Its shape was square, and embedded within it were 12 precious stones symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel. These stones are considered to be: jasper, chrysolite, emerald, turquoise, lapis lazuli, zirconia, amber, agate, amethyst, topaz, cat’s eye, and beryl. It’s interesting to see that some of these stones are familiar to us even today. Apart from the symbolic meaning of the breastplate, it was also believed to have been used to interpret God’s desires and intentions. Either way, the design still remains a source of inspiration for jewelry to this day.

We can’t discuss ancient gold jewels without mentioning the most important and recognizable symbol of gold, and that is of royalty: The most well known symbol of a king or queen is their gold crown. The crown is an item of jewelry that was intended to cover the head and represents the high position and status of the person wearing it. In the days when countries were still ruled by kings, the crown had important significant, for example in the “crowning” ceremony. The few members of royal families that still endure today (such as in the U.K. and Denmark, for example) only wear their crowns on rare occasions. With that, we still see the symbolism of crowns that endures through to the present, for example on birthdays, when the birthday girl is crowned with flowers.

Our High Quality Jewelry

Gold jewelry has long since been associated with quality, and heavy with meaning. Here at youme, we take great care over the quality of our jewelry: our collections are made of solid 14K gold, meeting international standards. Our collections include items in classic designs to modern styles with a sense of humor. We know that jewelry is one of the means of expressing our individuality and uniqueness, which is why we’ve especially invested in truly one-of-a-kind styles. You can read about them here.