International Jeweler's Day in 2023 - interesting facts



The need for beauty, convenience, and aesthetics is one of the most important human needs. A comfortably organized life, little things that warm the soul, heart-warming accessories, and nice gifts are far from as excessive, as they might seem at first glance. Such things relieve stress, help to cope with life's trials, distract from problems, and give strength to overcome difficulties. They remind us that in the surrounding reality, there are not only negative aspects, but also happiness, carelessness, and mutual support. Therefore, even in the most difficult times, men and women sought to take care of themselves, try on new clothes or original jewelry, and diversify the surrounding space with attractive decor. You can view the best amber jewelry and products on the yantar.ua website.

And if such creations are made of precious materials, they will also prove to be a profitable investment and a worthy commemorative souvenir.

Given all this, it is not surprising that jewelry continues to be in demand, despite the social upheaval. Master craftsmen create real masterpieces, immortalizing in them historical events, deeds and records of celebrities, cultural, technological and humanitarian breakthroughs.

Виробництво Янтар Полісся

The employees of the Yantar Polissya company are no exception - we handcraft wonderful necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, lamps, statuettes, icons, panels, pens and hundreds of other products from natural solar gems so that you can delight yourself and your loved ones with them. loved ones

To pay tribute to these efforts, a separate holiday was started - and our article will tell you about its features, origins and traditions!

How did the celebration come about?


Designing original products is not an easy task. Probably, that is why those who are engaged in it are given two dates at once - January 31 and March 13. It is interesting that the first one was adopted in 2008, after the contest in Tashkent, and is traditionally more widely celebrated on the territory of the CIS. Such a choice is not accidental, because it is on this day that the registration of trademarks - exclusive drawings that help to identify the creator's handwriting - ends. In honor of the holiday, exhibitions, master classes on the exchange of experience, presentations and sales are held during the week.

The specialty has many heavenly guardians. So, in antiquity, she was patronized by Hephaestus - the god of fire and a gifted blacksmith. Legend has it that he built all the buildings on Olympus, forged lightning bolts for Zeus, which do not know a miss, and a chariot for the charioteer of the Sun - Helios. Orthodox Christians consider Cosmas and Damian, silverless miracle workers who healed the sick and preached the true faith, to be the patron saints of this activity. And among Catholics, a whole constellation of righteous people cares about this direction - from the mother of the Virgin Anna to Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury (the latter, according to legends, pinched the nose of the Devil who tempted him with stamping tongs).

Chronicle of craft - from the Paleolithic to modern times


The jeweler is a profession with ancient roots. So, in 2006, archaeologists from France, Israel and Great Britain, who were excavating a site of primitive people in Algeria, found primitive shell beads there - holes were punched in them to be strung on a string or sewn to clothes. According to radiocarbon analysis, the age of these artifacts is from 100 to 135 thousand years! In addition, the cave settlement was located 250 km from the nearest reservoir where similar molluscs were found - and therefore, a lot of work had to be done to make the trinket. A little earlier, in 2004, a similar expedition operated on the southern coast of Africa. Their find (necklaces made of marine shells) was a little younger - "only" 75,000 years old - but all the details were carefully selected in terms of shape and size, and in the end they were also covered with red clay. Unfortunately, the lion's share of such products was lost due to the fragility of the wood, bone, animal fangs and claws used in them.

The specialty has many heavenly guardians. So, in antiquity, she was patronized by Hephaestus - the god of fire and a gifted blacksmith. Legend has it that he built all the buildings on Olympus, forged lightning bolts for Zeus, which do not know a miss, and a chariot for the charioteer of the Sun - Helios. Orthodox Christians consider Cosmas and Damian, silverless miracle workers who healed the sick and preached the true faith, to be the patron saints of this activity. And among Catholics, a whole constellation of righteous people cares about this direction - from the mother of the Virgin Anna to Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury (the latter, according to legends, pinched the nose of the Devil who tempted him with stamping tongs).

Chronicle of craft - from the Paleolithic to modern times

намистини з ракушок

Jeweler is a profession with ancient roots. So, in 2006, archaeologists from France, Israel and Great Britain, who were excavating a site of primitive people in Algeria, found primitive shell beads there - holes were punched in them to be strung on a string or sewn to clothes. According to radiocarbon analysis, the age of these artifacts is from 100 to 135 thousand years! In addition, the cave settlement was located 250 km from the nearest reservoir where similar molluscs were found - and therefore, a lot of work had to be done to make the trinket. A little earlier, in 2004, a similar expedition operated on the southern coast of Africa. Their find (necklaces made of marine shells) was a little younger - "only" 75,000 years old - but all the details were carefully selected in terms of shape and size, and in the end they were also covered with red clay. Unfortunately, the lion's share of such products was lost due to the fragility of the wood, bone, animal fangs and claws used in them.

Step by step, our ancestors developed their skills. In the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras (12,000-1,800 BC), rough stone tools became increasingly precise, and the concepts of grinding, drilling, and sawing were born. From the 7th millennium BC. e. recorded evidence of forging, casting and high-temperature melting. In ancient Egypt, Greece and Mesopotamia, the art of glyptics (from the ancient Greek term "γλύφω" - "to hollow out") - carving on precious stones - reached extraordinary heights. And if at first relatively soft rocks were used for such tasks - lapis lazuli, amber, peridot, coral - later craftsmen were able to grind and polish hard amethysts, carnelian, emeralds, sapphires. A similar treasure was extracted, in particular, from the oldest step pyramid in Memphis - the tomb of Pharaoh Djoser, built in 2667-2648 BC. e. In Ancient Rome, gold and silver products were popular - both forged and twisted from wire or pasted with the thinnest shiny foil - and gems (from the Latin "gemma" - "bud on a vine") - patterned gems with a relief or incised image. And the Scythians and the inhabitants of Kievan Rus' had no equal in plastic arts - the creation of three-dimensional figurines of people, animals, and fantastic creatures.

Processing methods became more complicated. In the Middle Ages, friction against a piece of granular sandstone or wet skin sprinkled with quartz sand was replaced by devices made of lead tiles with fused brick flour and grinding wheels - then they resembled miniature millstones. But due to the fact that the jeweler's tools still remained quite simple, the stones could only be given a cabochon configuration - flat on the back side and rounded-convex, like a pebble rolled by waves, on the front side.

гліптика

Technologies made a qualitative leap in the XIV-XV centuries, in Western Europe. In 1327, a polishing mill with a water drive was invented in Germany - it ensured the hitherto unattainable speed and accuracy of work. And in 1456, Louis de Berken from Bruges discovered a universal means of cutting, which is still in demand today - the crushed diamond. He also noted for the first time the wonderful play of light characteristic of these minerals. However, they learned how to turn fossil raw materials into shimmering diamonds much later - in the 16th century. in Venice. There, they came up with the idea of complementing the beauty of gems with a contrasting lining and a spectacular frame - the famous Italian Benvenuto Cellini was especially famous for this.


How to become a jeweler?

Those who dream of mastering this art need the following physiological and mental properties:

  • good visual acuity – the ability to determine distances and values without external reference points;
  • a full sense of color - the absence of vision defects related to light perception;
  • developed fine motor skills and coordination of hand movements;
  • diligence, accuracy, and concentration;
  • artistic taste, creativity, rich imagination.
With similar resources, you can enter a technical school, college or institute for geological, decorative and applied, artistic and industrial faculties. There, students are taught:

  • understand the categories and types of accessories, their details and construction;
  • handle metals, precious and semi-precious stones of all types;
  • draw by hand and in computer programs;
  • to have mechanical and technical procedures, as well as the necessary tools - a cutter, a drill, a drill, a jigsaw, a file, a soldering iron.
In their senior years, they choose a further specialization: from designer to fitter, sharer, grinder, bracelet maker, cutter or all-rounder. But self-study is impossible here - there are too many specific means and devices in the process.

After graduation, newcomers are usually employed in factories and factories to hone their skills. There, they receive grades from 1 (the lowest, whose tolerance limit is jewelry made of copper, nickel silver, bronze, tin, and synthetic stones) to 6, which gives the right to manage a department or branch. In addition, there are always the options of an expert bureau, freelance (free cooperation with several employers) or individual orders.

Now, having learned how and who creates your favorite products, you will appreciate the offers from "Yantar Polissya" - and we will continue to move forward, exciting you with unique things!