If My Jewellery Could Speak: Exploring European Jewellery Traditions

Have you ever wondered if Europe had any meaningful jewellery traditions other than the mass produced mainstream jewellery we globally seem to be encouraged to be drawn to and to aspire to adopting? If you have then this one is for you.

If like me, you thought European jewellery traditions were all about the diamonds, gemstones and precious metals you see in so many designs across so many luxury jewellery retailers globally... you would be mistaken. If you thought they were all about gold wedding bands and pendants depicting the Crucifix or relatively simple pieces with little or nothing incredibly ornate about them... prepare to be surprised.

As I journeyed into ancient global jewellery traditions, focusing on traditions which existed before the industrial revolution, I was prompted to consider what traditions existed within Europe before this time. What I discovered was fascinating.

Europe has a rich and very deeply meaningful collection of jewellery traditions, all of which existed primarily before the industrial revolution globally shifted the way we think about jewellery. Join me as together we discover some of these traditions and perhaps most importantly unpick the intention behind them.

Interestingly European jewellery traditions did everything from serve as markers of divine protection to declarations of love and commitment. They acted as social and political declarations as well as markers of key moments in time. They even acted as a spiritual bridge between human beings and the Divine.

Jewellery as Protection

The idea of jewellery serving as a protective talisman or charm is one I personally thought was very rooted in Eastern philosophy however, it turns out this concept is perhaps one of the oldest functions of jewellery in our collective human history.

You may perhaps have heard people making reference to something they call the 'Evil Eye'. It was this very concept jewellery was created to protect people from in Mediterranean Europe. The idea being that actual physical harm or misfortune could be experienced in your life if you were surrounded by people (or even just one person) who was envious of you.

Yes, it is the idea that envy from other people can bring real physical harm to a person and there are several communities and cultures which created pieces of jewellery to help protect the wearer from this type of harm. The pieces of jewellery featured a specific motif referred to as the 'Evil Eye' and can be seen across Greek and Roman as well as Byzantine jewellery. The Evil Eye remains a living tradition across Middle Eastern cultures and across Southern Europe to this very day.

Whilst not specifically related to the 'Evil Eye' there were other traditions across Europe which focused on protection such as coral jewellery. Coral jewellery was typically gifted to and worn by new born babies, children and new mums across Southern and Central Europe because coral was believed to carry life force energy and to be capable of warding off harm. Similarly, warriors from Germanic and Gothic traditions typically wore garnets for protection in battle (the deep red colour of garnets was considered to be associated with blood, vitality and courage). Even in Britain, a black gemstone called Jet was worn for protection and as a physical symbol of a person in mourning. This tradition was also present across Northern Europe. And as already briefly mentioned, Byzantine jewellery, which was extraordinarily refined gold jewellery depicting deeply Christian motifs and iconography, was worn both for divine protection and as an act of deep devotion.

The concept of protection was also the primary focus behind a lot of Celtic jewellery traditions - which spanned the British Isles and parts of Western Europe. Torcs for example were metal rings worn by warriors around their necks as markers of courage and invitations for divine protection. The still popular, Thor's Hammer pendant, is a Norse jewellery tradition and - you guessed it - it was created to be worn for protection.

One could also theorise that certain types of Greek jewellery, designed to be tied to specific Gods and Goddesses were potentially created with divine protection in mind. Pieces such as serpent bracelets worn to communicate reverence for Asclepius and dove motifs worn as an act of devotion towards Aphrodite.

Among all of these communities and cultures, it is clear to see across many regions in Europe, jewellery was not simply worn, it was trusted to keep the wearer safe in their Earthly life.

Jewellery as a Declaration of Love and Commitment

Before we romanticised European jewellery traditions, by focussing solely on outlandish gestures of love through big gemstone and diamond pieces of jewellery, European jewellery traditions already held a very rich and meaningful catalogue of incredibly romantic jewellery traditions. These are arguably some of the most romantic pieces of jewellery in the world.

I am talking about beautiful pieces like Gimmel rings which were basically a stacked set of rings featuring two to three rings which connected with each other to form one ring. The idea was for two people who were engaged to be married to wear the rings on separate fingers until their wedding day and on that special day the rings would be united and placed on the finger which has come to be thought of as the 'wedding ring finger' (the ring finger of the left hand).

Then there were posy rings which carried secret engravings on the inside of the ring which were intended only for the person wearing the ring to see and be aware of. The ring itself was a plain gold band on the front face, the beauty lay on the inside, the reverse side which made contact with the skin. The inscriptions were short and often poetic declarations of love like 'Forever & Always' 'I am yours' or 'Love conquers all'.

All the way over in Ireland, Claddagh tradition is another beautiful example of the undying pledge of love two people make to each other. It features the motif of two hands clasping each other depicted on a ring, which is called the Fede Ring, and this motif actually originated from Roman times and made its way gradually through Medieval Europe into Irish culture. It remains a very living tradition today... thousands of years from when it originated.

Whilst a lot of these pieces centred around the wearing of rings, there were a few lockets which communicated the same sentiment and if anything demonstrated the close bond two people shared across death. Jewellery such as lockets or brooches as well as rings containing the hair of a beloved were typically worn, from Medieval to Victorian times, as an act of reverence and a way to keep them close by across distances and even death.

The wearing of pieces of jewellery to symbolise the undying, everlasting love and connection or bond between two people is perhaps one of the most beautiful of European jewellery traditions wouldn't you agree?

Jewellery as a Social & Political Language

Before the news, the media or mass communication as we know it today, jewellery was one of the most efficient and visible ways of declaring your allegiances to Royalty and Noble Houses. Across Medieval England people wore livery collars which featured heavy chains linked with symbols specific to the Royal House a person wanted to demonstrate their loyalty and allegiance towards. They were essentially a political statement which could either save your life or cost you your life depending entirely on who noticed you wearing them.

During the incarceration of King Charles I, small miniature portraits of the King were worn concealed inside a locket as a quiet act of protest and resistance against the English Parliament. It was essentially a secret language.

As governments began to recognise the social and political power of jewellery they actually began to create laws to control who could wear what type of jewellery and for what reason! In Medieval and Renaissance Europe, Sumptuary Laws came into effect which meant certain pieces of jewellery such as gold and pearl jewellery as well as clothing made from fur, could only be worn by people of a certain social standing and status.

And of course with the rise of Guilds, Guild Makers developed their own unique marks which they used to sign their works of art. These marks were not just a way to ensure a Guild Maker could receive credit for his work, they were also marks of prestige which people wore to position themselves in society as being culturally of high standing and people with exceptional taste and judgement when it came to quality. To wear the mark of a Guild Maker was to wear his honour and reputation on your own body.

In Mediterranean Europe jewellery was even used as a way to mark a person's place in society with rings worn around the necks of Roman citizens and made from certain materials based on the person's social status.

The idea of jewellery as capable of making a social and political statement is an idea that has continued into modern day narratives such as the narratives of people like Sandi Burrows (addressing feminine and civil rights issues), brands like Tatty Devine (focused on pop culture conversations) and spaces like the Craft in America Centre (bringing to the forefront dialogues around historical human rights exploitation with lasting impacts).

Jewellery as a Marker of Time and Transition

This remains a tradition still very much alive across many parts of the world where jewellery is gifted for specific moments in a person's life. Typically these pieces are received by women at various points in their life and the giving and receiving of these pieces was very much a celebrated European tradition.

People typically gifted specific pieces to mark the Christening of a newborn child, for example silver spoons and small silver amulets were commonly gifted across European society whilst rattles and teething rings made of coral were specifically gifted within wealthy families. The idea behind these pieces was to celebrate the arrival of a new life into the world and to mark that occasion with a piece which could become an heirloom.

As children grew, coming of age gifts were received, especially by young girls, to mark their transition from childhood into womanhood. These pieces were often seen as a marker of a young woman's graduation into young adulthood and therefore her transition from girl to becoming of marriageable age - it must be noted unfortunately marking a girl as now ready to be married was something many cultures promoted and is a cultural observation we are now being called to question because of how much it deprives women of the freedom to choose their own path in life.

Speaking of women, in Slavic and Eastern European traditions women wore pieces such as temple rings which varied in style and material from region to region and served as a way to immediately know which region and which community a woman came from. These rings were literally worn around the temples of the woman's head. Lunula is another example of a jewellery tradition designed to mark the key stages of a woman's life and in this case it is a pendant. However, Lunula was also a source of empowerment and connection for women to fertility, the lunar cycle and divine feminine power.

Naturally what follows is the wedding ring. A way to physically mark the unbroken promise made between a man and a woman (the traditional view of marriage which we have been called to question because of its assumptions about love and the nature or form which it should take). Across Christian Europe in particular the wearing of a wedding band carried extraordinary weight. The ring was blessed by a priest and worn on the ring finger of the left hand because of Roman belief that a vein ran directly from that finger to the heart (modern anatomy has since disproved this). Perhaps what we might be called to question here is the wearing of a ring altogether or the expectation placed on married women to wear theirs whilst married men are often seen as being socially acceptable even when they are not wearing theirs.

Interestingly enamel jewellery made using a black stone called Jet was worn in memorial rings commissioned by families to bear the name of a loved one after their death. The day of their death was often inscribed on the ring alongside their name and this ring often contained the hair of the deceased. This ring was a visible marker of a person in mourning and was considered a very dignified way for a person to 'wear their grief'. Conversely in Norse and Scandinavian traditions, jewellery was actually placed on the vessel as part of a person's burial so that they would travel with the deceased into the afterlife. These pieces were considered personal and they were not pieces which could be passed on to another person. We can see here a very different way to mark the passing of a person, one connected to preserving the dignity of the people left behind mourning and one connected solely to ensuring the welfare of the person who had died.

Finally, jewellery pieces were typically commissioned to commemorate big milestones or occasions in the life of a Royal or Noble person such as victories they had come to achieve or coronations and anniversaries. These pieces were typically crafted from gold and gemstones and became heirloom pieces passed down through generations of the same family.

Even in Europe, jewellery has served as a way to physically and visibly mark the achievements, life transitions and stages of a person's life. Globally speaking this is a practice we see across many cultures in the World and the real question here is perhaps not about whether we continue to honour these traditions, but whether we still stand by and feel aligned with the way in which they encourage us to be labelled.

Jewellery as a Spiritual Bridge

YES! Perhaps the most interesting intention behind European jewellery traditions. Why? Because in more recent times Europeans have not been viewed as being particularly spiritually aware or enlightened. Where does this thinking come from? The decreasing attendance of many Europeans at churches and religious gatherings. I think it is important here to recognise a decline in church attendance does not necessarily mean a decline in spirituality. In fact, the decline in attendance perhaps says more about spiritual alignment being more important to Europeans than inherited religious practices.

Before the industrial revolution, Europeans held certain jewellery traditions which were deeply connected to their relationship with the Divine. Reliquary pendants and rings for example, were created containing fragments of the bones of a saint or fibres from a cloth which physically touched sacred sites or soil from Jerusalem. Wearing one of these pendants or rings essentially meant you were wearing a direct link between yourself and the Divine.

It was also common for people to go on pilgrimages to sacred sites across Europe and to collect tokens as evidence of their pilgrimage. These tokens were badges made from lead or pewter and they were stamped with the image of the Saint associated with the site that had been visited. They were not just social proof of your journey but also a way to keep your connection with the Saint alive. Another way to do this was to wear devotional rings engraved with the sacred names of Saints / a Saint's initials / the letters IHS (the name of Christ). These rings were worn for constant divine protection and as a private act of devotion and faith.

Aligning your body with cosmic forces was also a thing back then! Rings and pendants were created using specific gemstones which were believed to carry planetary properties (interestingly there is a correlation here with Navratna jewellery from Indian Vedic Jyotish wisdom). Ruby was the stone chosen to represent the sun, pearls were chosen to represent the moon and sapphire was chosen to represent Jupiter. Wearing these pieces was a way to align yourself with cosmic forces.

Have We Lost Our Way?

All of these traditions understood jewellery as something more deeply meaningful than something beautiful to wear or a statement of material wealth. They demonstrate how across Europe jewellery was held as something which carried meaning, symbolism, connection, political and social power as well as devotion and spiritual beliefs.

How then did we lose our way and become so focused on the material value and surface level aesthetics of jewellery in this modern world we live in?

And as we deepen our collective spiritual awareness, is this perhaps the time to consider returning to a time when our jewellery meant more, was more personal and more connected to our life, our history and our beliefs? Maybe not to recreate something which has been lost, but to create new ways to reflect this shift in our attitudes towards jewellery in a way that does not alienate us but encourages more unification whilst leaving a gentler footprint on our planet...

Because your jewellery should always be more than just an afterthought 🦚

With love,
Megha
❤️🙌🏾🌞🦚
Xx

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Author: Megha Mundandishe is the designer and founder of Mayaani Jewellery — a conscious brand rooted in Indian heritage and dedicated to redefining luxury through sustainable artistry. Each piece is one o f a kind, handcrafted with seed beads and stories that honour both the earth and the wearer.