Jewellery

Brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks are all examples of jewelery, often known as jewellery in the American English. Jewellery may be worn on the body or fastened to garments. From a Western point of view, the phrase only applies to permanent decorations, therefore flowers are not included. Glass, shells, and other plant materials may also be used to make jewellery, but metals like gold and silver, often set with diamonds, have been the standard for ages.

Many different materials may be used to create jewellery. Amber, coral, precious metals, beads, shells, and enamel have all played significant roles in jewellery throughout history. Jewellery is a status symbol, a decorative object, and often has symbolic or material importance depending on the culture in question. Hairpins, toe rings, and genital jewels are just a few examples of the many ways jewellery may be worn. When compared to other cultures and historical periods in Europe, the quantity worn by adult men in current European culture is rather modest.

The English word "jewel" is an anglicization of the Old French "jouel," which in turn comes from the Latin "jocale," which means "plaything." The word is spelt jewelery in American English but jewellery everywhere else in the English-speaking world save the United Kingdom, India, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, and South Africa.[3] Both terms appear in Canadian English, however jewellery is more common. The comparable word, joaillerie, in French and a few other European languages may also refer to non-wearable decorative metalwork in precious metals, such as objets d'art and religious goods.