Throughout history, jewelry has been everywhere. The word “gemstone carving” comes from the Greek word “gluptiko”, meaning the art of carving precious stones, and is a long-established and rare craft. Gemmological craftsmanship is a time-honored skill that involves the mining, cutting, setting and processing of gemstones. Today, we’re going to talk about one of those parts, gemstone carving. We will talk about the story of the development of gemstone carving from several different dimensions.
1. What types of jewelry carving are there?
Throughout history, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome pioneered jewelry engraving. The craft of jewelry engraving was first used for jewelry like rings, which can be divided into two categories, one is intaglio and the other is cameo. Intaglio, as the name suggests, is the process of cutting away the excess on the surface of a gemstone to create a recessed pattern. The term cameo, which you may be more or less familiar with, is where the excess material is removed, leaving a raised relief pattern.
2. What materials are used?
In ancient times, these carved jewels were very precious treasures, and these ornaments were made from both gemstone and semi-precious materials, like crystal, sapphire, agate and so on would be used as raw materials. The significance of different gemstones varies from one to another. Sapphire, for example, represents loyalty, chastity, love, etc. Agate has different meanings depending on its color. For example, red agate represents longevity, yellow agate represents wealth and so on. Therefore, the use of these gems to a certain extent can also reflect the status of the owner of these treasures and personal taste is how.
3. How are they made?
In ancient times craftsmen did not have particularly sophisticated instruments to process jewelry, and most of them used simple iron tools to make them by hand. The tools included drills and cutting wheels, both of which, when used together with fine sandstone, greatly increased the efficiency of the craftsmen. At that time, the craftsmen just with a pair of hands with simple tools can make such ingenious jewelry carving, is really amazing! But nowadays, with the development of science and technology, people demand more and more exquisite jewelry carving. Again, people in order to save time and labor costs, such as jewelry engraving machine, stereoscopic optical microscope and other instruments were born, bringing a lot of convenience for people, but also enhance the accuracy of the engraving work.
4. What was the original purpose of gemstone carving?
In today’s world, gemstones are most often collected or worn as a variety of jewelry. It is hard to imagine that the original purpose of gemstone carving was a portable stamp. Often, the wearer would stamp a carved gemstone onto wax or clay, which would allow the stamped document or item to be recognized. Later, over time, gemstone engraving went from being a practical item to an item of status, fashion, taste, and faith.
5. How have they been handed down?
How have these carved gems been preserved after such a long period of time? In what form do they now exist? It is well known that not many carved jewels have been found in archaeological excavations, though. However, according to historical records, in some ancient temples in Greece and Rome, a large number of engraved jewelry was used as offerings to the gods. After the Middle Ages, engraved jewelry was regarded as treasures by royal collectors and has been handed down to this day. They were often placed in objects such as chalices and scriptures. In this way, engraved jewelry was preserved. Later, these historic stones entered the modern market and were reset into modern rings with a whole new appeal.
6. What is their appeal to the modern collector?
This can be broadly categorized into three reasons. One is that the gemstones themselves are hard, and they are preserved in conditions where the temperature and moderation are more appropriate, so their appeal is largely preserved, and the second is that the carvings are very fine and small, so that, as mentioned above, the carvings can be set into modern ring holders, and more people can see the beauty of the carvings. The third is that not all jewel carvings are expensive, the cheapest ones can be bought for a few hundred pounds.
7. How diverse and innovative is contemporary jewelry engraving?
Modern gemmological craftsmanship saw a major change from the 19th to the 20th century. Advances in optical research brought about historic advances in the way gemstones were cut, revealing their brilliance. Later, the concept of ideal brilliance provided precise geometrical parameters for the cutting of gemstones. Gemstone cutting, which had previously depended on the artisan’s sense of touch, became more and more sophisticated with the availability of precise parameters for gemstone carving.
Gemstone carving craft from the initial just used to make decorations, and later evolved into the process of aesthetic art. It carries people’s continuous pursuit of beauty and reshaping, and also highlights the humanistic heritage of different national colors, and has become a time recorder of the long river of history. Its vitality continues to burst out with new vitality, echoing the colors of the times, glowing with new light, showing the world the luster and charm of jewelry carving.
