Unlike common believe jewellery designers have been around for thousands of years, the art that is jewellery design has been practised for centuries and can be dated back some 90, 000 years ago where sea shells were used to make necklaces, here in Africa jewellery has been found that dates back 75,000 years, using a most interesting combination of materials the ancient tribes in Africa used bones, teeth, seeds and claws to make necklaces, earrings and bracelets, throughout the ages in every religion and every culture jewellery has been used not only to decorate the body but also as a representation of a individual or a family’s wealth and social standing.
But there are few that know exactly what a Jewellery Designer is or does, the term jewellery Designer refers to a individual that creates a unique or original piece weather it is a ring, a pair of earrings, a bracelet, a necklace or a pendant the designer may use any and or all materials available to him, materials may range from precious metals, gems, and crystals, to any miscellaneous objects such as beads, shells, teeth, claws and even feathers as long as the piece is original the term jewellery designer may apply.
In recent years jewellery designers basically exploded onto the South African scene not many of these designers are known and most of them have shied away from using gold, silver and platinum along with diamonds and other gems in their designs instead opting for more basic materials glass and metal beads, charms, feathers and fake gems mimicking precious stones and gems such as topaz, emeralds, diamonds, sapphires and ruby’s the aim with this approach to Jewellery design was making locally designed
jewellery more affordable for the average middle class South African this is a design style that has become all the rage even A list celebrities are sporting these new designs, the concept of less is more clearly does not apply in this particular situation, the bigger, bolder and more bulky your jewellery piece is the better. This design style seems to have caught on like wild fire across the world and has become a serious tourist attraction for South Africa.
Many of us believe that we do not have the skill and talent that is required to be a jewellery designer, but there are a number of schools, colleges and universities where one can study jewellery design, so if first you don’t succeed try and try again.