Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Jewel Box

For as long as people have adorned themselves with jewelry there has been the need to safely store these items in receptacles that may protect them from exposure to elements that may affect the finishes and degrade them. Early on only the richest and most privileged needed to be concerned with such matters. The use of ceramic jars may very likely have been the earliest form of jewelry storage. The Egyptians were most likely the first to fashion boxes for the storage of gems and jewelry adornments.

The Industrial Revolution and the mass production of many products including jewelry ushered in the demand of common folk for jewelry storage. The first manufactured jewelry boxes were made of cast lead base metal, often with electroplated finishes of copper, silver or gold. Through time we have seen incredible diversity in the materials and designs used in the crafting of jewelry boxes which are eternally sought after by girls and women from 5 to 80 and beyond.


I recall my first jewelry box was a recycled cigar box, after a couple of years it was elevated to a musical box with a ballerina inside…I believe it was made of cardboard. There are jewel boxes made of leather, exotic woods, glass and even some that are encrusted with gemstones or other sparkling embellishments. You can find jewel boxes in all shapes and sizes…some designed for function with multiple compartments, drawers lined with anti-tarnish fabrics and mirrors and other that are sought after more for their form and collectability. Today my favorite jewel box is actually a jewelry armoire that lets me hang necklaces without getting them entangled with each other and offers a variety of storage options. I also love the little trinket boxes I have collected that hold my favorite earrings and small pendants that I enjoy wearing more than occasionally. My favorite pieces of jewelry are items that have been artfully designed, handcrafted, limited in availability and made with high quality standards…just like the jewelry crafted by the artists and designers of the Starving Artists Team.

What’s in your Jewel Box? Looking for unique pieces to add to your collection? Have a look at some SATeam creations….



 














Featuring artisan handmade creations by the Starving Artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com and here on Artfire.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, super boxes, can't I have one of those? Lovely selection of jewelry too.

RitaJC said...

Great post! Thank you so much for sharing!

Jeanne said...

This is interesting... I asked for and got a new jewelry box for Christmas since I have so much more jewelry now. Great collection of pictures there... I've had several of those very types over the years. Now for the selection of new pieces to add to my nice new jewelry box, what a selection! Our team members are very talented indeed to creat such beautiful pieces.

mcstoneworks said...

There is such a great variety in jewelry boxes. You featured some really pretty ones and also some beautiful jewelry to put in them.

ShinyAdornments said...

This was a nice post and nice tie in to some really fabulous creations.

:-)

Kristy
Simply Shiny Blog

Cat said...

Great post! Also love the pieces of jewelry you've chosen.

I got myself a big new jewelry box a year ago and I'm crazy about it ;-)

Caron Michelle said...

How wonderful, I have always adored jewellery boxes and and still have my first one that I got at the age of three! Lovely post.

tjrjewellery said...

Even though I don't own a jewellery box, I enjoy watching my DD with her assortment of them. Nice post!

Tasha said...

My 'jewel box' was a gift from my Husband on my 21st birthday. I love and cherish it as much as the jewellery that lives inside of it.
An interesting topic...

DawninCal said...

Those are lovely jewelry boxes and wonderful examples of the fabulous work our members create!

I have three favorite jewelry boxes. One is a wood box that looks like a treasure chest (it originally contained an assortment of Old Spice) and was a Christmas gift for my dad one year. I snagged the box after he removed it's contents.

The second is a box made of some sort of fantastic great stone found at a flea market.

Third, but not last is a gift given to me for Christmas last year. The lid features a beautiful needle point rendering done by a dear friend.

:)

Dawn

Unknown said...

I remember having one of those cardboard ones with a ballerina as well. I was looking around for one for my little girl as I've got such fond memories of it. It's a right of passage surely?

FeatheredGems said...

I have two fairly large jewelry boxes that my father made for my mom and me. And they're completely full of jewelry that my dad and/or I made. Could it get any better?

Happileerving said...

I love jewelry boxes. they remind me of treasure chests. Nice idea for a post.

EleganceandSparkles said...

The boxes are lovely. I have a shell encrusted one that was given to me by a friend.

TheSillyCurmudgeon said...

Lovely, lovely boxes shown and what a great collection of goodies to put in them!

I actually have two jewelry boxes One is smaller yet sentimental to me as it was a gift from my husband; a Christmas present that was quite a suprise because of the tassled key- (He remembered I love keys!) He was so cute and sweet like an impatient child while I was opening his gift, too. Putting things into/taking things out of that box- I remember that fact. The other is a larger, footed jewelry box and a gift from my in-laws- again, totally surprised and I was totally floored! I also received a pair of white gold earrings that year too, from my mom...so the idea of one gift going into another, like a circle in a square...ingrains itself in your memory to leave a warm impression on your heart.

Great article!