History of Jewelry Boxes

Jewelry Boxes are not contemporary boxes which have been used only for the past few decades. Jewelry Boxes have been used for centuries. Jewelry Boxes have always been made by designers and highly skilled craftsmen. Mass production fostered by the Industrial Revolution reduced the prices and made jewelry boxes an affordable commodity for the masses. Hence, everyone started purchasing jewelry boxes.

Jewelry Boxes since Industrial Revolution

Jewelry Boxes were only purchased by the super rich before the Industrial Revolution and since then even the middle class population could purchase jewelry boxes. This happened due to the reduction in cost enabled by mass production. In the beginning of or in the first quarter of the 1800s, Wards, Marshall Field and Sears catalogs could help purchase Jewelry Boxes at quite good costs affordable to middle class families.

Boxes of all sizes were made available during the period and shops displayed the best of jewelry boxes with good décor. Jewelry Boxes for rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings were all sold. Even Handkerchief or Glove Sized Jewelry Boxes were possible to be obtained. A base metal by the name Antimonial lead was used the most in making jewelry boxes during this period. Jewelry Boxes with Copper Electroplates were made and finishing was done with Gold, Silver etc.

Jewelry Boxes and its making are cross cultural as the materials with which they were made include Parisian Silver, Roman Gold, French Bronze and Gray, Pompeian Gold etc. Other rare materials such as Ivory was started to be used since 1911. Gold or Silver Boxes were not the ones that would last longer. On the contrary, Jewelry Boxes with enamel finishes survived the longest.

Cultural, Regional and Continental Impact on Jewelry Boxes

Globalization had brought about significant changes in trade, commerce and business. However, much before Globalization, somewhere around the very beginning of the 20th century, Art Nouveau was the best styled Jewelry Boxes. The asymmetrical lines, designs and motifs were all symbolic of the nature. Nouveau Jewelry Boxes were most liked by women who liked it for their flower like design, love and beauty they radiated.

The Nouveau Boxes were believed to bring good luck and were believed to symbolize love and beauty. American Art Metal Manufacturers like Jennings Brothers, NB Rogers, Benedict, Brainard and Wilson and Wieldich Brothers patented Jewelry Boxes of various designs. Mid 1900 and 1920 was when the production of Jewelry Boxes had gone prolific.

Gold and Silver Jewelry Boxes, Antique Jewelry Boxes, boxes with photo discs, and silver plated boxes were very famous. Some of the older Jewelry Boxes became very rare though some of them have been inherited within families and passed on to subsequent generations.