Antique and Vintage Jewellery Lecture:

Which materials are utilised to enhance our aesthetic appeal? The immediate (yet not sole) response is "Metals" and "stones".

Metals can be categorised into:

• precious metals: gold, platinum, silver
• non-precious metals: iron, copper, alpaca, aluminium and the like.
• contemporary metals designed specifically for space travel, such as titanium
• or mixtures of the aforementioned metals

Stones can be classified into:

• precious stones like diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and rubies
• semi-precious stones such as topaz, aquamarine, tourmaline, lapis lazuli and so on.
• alongside less prized stones like onyx and carnelian (or cornaline) which belong to the agate family
• pyrite, colloquially known as fool's gold, and marcasite (a steel-hued variant of pyrite)

Other materials encompass:

• synthetic gemstones, crafted, for instance, using the Verneuil method.
• strass developed by Frederic Strass (1710-1773) in Strasbourg; in essence, a transparent, colourless glass with a significant lead concentration, readily facetted.
• enamel (fused glass)
• polished steel as a substitute for marcasite (which is itself affordable)
• organic materials like ivory, amber, shells, pearls, coral
• less renowned materials include cow horn, elephant hair, animal hides (leather) and fish skins (such as shark or stingray)