Jewelry Then & Now - CRATEX Abrasives

A jeweler or a is a person who deals in jewelry in many ways: it's design, make, repair, and in the end, sale. Metal and gemstones were used for body embellishment for centuries. Many tribe members used to wear animal teeth, bones and shells on their neck, which means that people always had a strong need to decorate themselves. Jewelry had a lot of forms and functions, but one was dominant – talisman protection.

Things are just slightly different today. We use hairpins, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, brooches, cufflinks, but most of all – rings (engagement and wedding) and crosses (for those who are Christians). Jewelry started to represent and symbolize (especially golden) social status and recognition.

Due to its high popularity, we are starting to see more and more people getting involved with jewelry design and creation. It became a hobby for many, especially in the last decade. You probably know someone from your closest surroundings that makes earrings and necklaces and sells them on Etsy, Instagram or Pinterest.

Opposite to those who take jewelry as a hobby, professional jewelers make artisan jewelry - they create true art by using precious materials, glass, plastic, wood or gemstones. There are many jewelry schools in US. They represent starting point for all of those who want to learn metal working techniques and jewelry design (we’ll tell you more about schools in Chapter 4). In lines below, we will introduce some of the necessary and most used jewelry tools, followed by CRATEX polishing abrasives for jewelry finishing and cleaning.