Scriptonite Daily

Looking for a woman’s birthday gift? There’s not a woman in the world who wouldn’t love receiving a necklace. Here’s some information about necklaces and why they’re such treasured gift ideas.

Origin and History of the Necklace

Necklaces have been worn by men and women for thousands of years. It’s thought that people began wearing necklaces as a sort of ID badge to distinguish themselves from people from other cultures, tribes or groups. Regardless, the oldest known chain, made from shells, bones and teeth, date from 30,000 BC. By around 2500 BC, artisans were making necklaces from gold hammered into a variety of intricate shapes.

The Egyptians, however, raised jewellery and necklace-making to a high art, as seen from the elaborate necklaces found in pharonic burials. In ancient cultures, the more gold in your necklace, the more prestige and social standing you’d have. And there’s no doubt that necklaces were highly regarded gifts for women and men. Today, necklaces are more favoured by women of all ages. So you can buy the perfect necklace gift for her.

More on Necklace History

The pendant made its appearance in about 500-300 BC in ancient Greek culture, with gold pendants becoming prevalent around the time of Alexander the Great, who was born in 356 BC. In Italy, a pre-Roman civilisation known as the Etruscans wore gold necklaces in the 8th century BC and the Romans themselves wore necklaces decorated with gemstones.

In medieval times, jewellery was discouraged, but many people wore jewelled or precious metal crosses or crucifixes. The Renaissance celebrated ornate jewellery. Necklaces from India were prized for their filigree work, beads, precious and semi-precious stones. In the New World, nobles of the Aztec civilization wore gold necklaces that contained beads in the shape of animals. In Hawaii, the indigenous peoples have worn flower necklaces for centuries. Necklaces have been given as birthday gifts and wedding gifts by virtually every ethnic group or culture.