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Gem
History
Gems were probably used by primitive man in connection
with mystical rites. The vibrant colors, transparency,
and unusual forms of naturally occurring gem materials
are all capable of inspiring awe in superstitious cultures.
For example, quartz crystals or flattened and stream-polished
pebbles were used thousands of years ago for starting
fires by concen¬trating the rays of the sun.
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Such
objects must have been regarded as wellsprings of great
and mysterious powers. Yet these same materials were
also prized for their beauty and thus served as ornaments.
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Various
prehistoric cultures therefore regarded gems as objects of
either religion or adornment.Closely related to mysticism
was primitive medicine, and here too gems played a major role.
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DIAMONDS,
GEMSTONES & CRYSTALS
FACTS & FIGURES |
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wearing of amulets was practiced in the early
days of Egyptian civilization. Such objects are
ornaments in¬scribed with "magic"
symbols to ward off evil spirits or aid the wearer.
The production of
such baubles may well have been the earliest form
of lapidary, or gem-cutting art. The first jewelry
items were probably beads-pebbles drilled and
crudely strung as necklaces, or worn as pendants
and bracelets. Later in history beads would be
more perfectly polished, and/or inscribed with
symbolic markings.
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Such
amulets, covered with images and religious symbols,
were 8 common in ancient Babylonia, Persia, and
Assyria, where they were of assigning a particular
modern gem name to a word used thousands of years
ago. |
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The
specific uses of gems have varied in different historical
periods. In the Greek and Roman periods, carving attained
the state of great art, including the introduction of the
cameo, or raised relief technique, around 300 B.C. In ancient
Rome pearls were highly esteemed. Julius Caesar is reputed
to have paid the modern equivalent of $300,000 for a single
fine pearl! But opals and other gems were also prized, andwealthy
Romans tried to outdo each other in acquiring fine stones.
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