Children’s Jewellery
Throughout history jewellery has been constantly lavished on children, a practice that continues until today. Babies are gifted christening jewellery for their baptisms and both boys and girls enjoy high end jewellery that are of the same quality as most adult items. Some items are just fun and whimsical reminding adults that kids are meant to enjoy childhood.
However, with recent safety issues when it comes to kid’s items, parents should be cautious about what they buy and where they buy jewellery items because these things can be detrimental to the health of the kids who wear them.
Children’s Jewellery through the Ages
Children throughout history have been known to sport Jewellery dating back to the young prince and princesses of Egypt and even farther. The purpose of jewellery on children is essentially the same as why adults wear jewellery and that is as a status symbol that indicated wealth and the standing of families. At present, children’s jewellery style are very jolly and often on the whimsical side. But in History, children were made to wear jewellery in a serious manner to showcase to the world their standing in society. Even ethnic tribes made their children to wear jewellery even if it means painful body piercing on various body parts.
Man fashioned and strung together the same jewellery materials that he had and donned it on his son. When jewellery making was more profound like in ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, children were made to wear fine jewellery in order to show their class status and that of their families.
Golden clasps held together a young Egyptian prince’s hair while he learned to cast his whip upon his horse using the right arm clad with a golden cuff. In Greece and in Rome, young girls are being fitted with their first necklaces at a very young age and some undergo ear piercing so that they can wear earring in the same fashion that their mothers do.
In China, the young emperor pours over his lessons with jade charms hanging around his neck. In other parts of the world, even in civilizations not as advanced, young children of the ruling class or tribal leaders are being given jewellery which is much common practice despite cultural differences.
In Burma, it is a common practice for a grandmother to slowly wind metal rings around her young granddaughter’s neck. She will try to get the little girl’s neck as long as she possibly can to ensure that she will be a fitting attractive wife to any male in the tribe. In another tribe an elder will be piercing a little boy’s lower lip to get a ring on to make him look more manly.
During the past centuries, Jewellery has cemented its purpose as body adornments. During the reign of Henry the VIII, he lavished upon his children and especially his only son, extravagant pins and gems that he would wear in his hats or pin to his tunics. Children during the reign of Napoleon benefited from the extravagance that he practiced. In the Victorian era little babies were gifted with precious gold jewellery as christening gifts (a practice still being observed today).
Over the years, children’s jewellery has grown more subtle and less profound unlike the jewellery of the past. Some traditions still remain like the Ladies of Myanmar and Thailand which until this day makes use of neck rings to elongate their necks making them more attractive to men.
Baby Jewellery
Babies are usually gifted jewellery during their christenings. Christening Jewellery can range from jewellery that the babies actually wear to novelty type items only. The gift giver’s budget can dramatically affect the range of gifts that will be given.
Jewellery that babies actually wear includes hinge bangles worn on their cute little wrist. The prices for this type of christening jewellery range depending on the material it is made of. Sterling Silver and Gold Bangles can range up to 500 Dollars. Alternatives to the bangles are ID bracelets that can be given to baby boys. Other christening gifts include those that have a religious motif like sterling silver cross pendants to cross earrings matched with gold necklaces. A rather unique christening gift is some silver cufflinks that a baby boy can wear with his christening gown.
Other more whimsical gifts for christenings may include silver spoons and silver dummies. These items are considered as precious keepsakes that the baby can cherish when he or she is grown up.
Jewellery for young Girls
Buying Jewellery for girls is not that hard. There are a lot of items to choose from. They can have pristine looking silver or gold necklaces that have the occasional diamond inset to fun and girly links made of precious metals and Swarovski crystals.
Necklaces are one of those pieces of jewellery that will be readily appreciated by the receiver of the gift. Girl’s necklaces can be simple items and also luxurious ones. You can get necklaces made of plastic, but real strikers are gold and silver jewellery that can have diamonds and other precious stones on it; preferably the young girl’s birthstone.
Charm bracelets have grown in popularity among the feminine set and so have they with children’s jewellery collection. Charm bracelets are specially cherished because of the fact that you can add charms to the length of the bracelet periodically. The charms can be made to mean something to both the giver and the receiver of the gift.
Jewellery made out of polymer clay is always appealing because of the different mystical colors and shapes the material. The use of Swarovski crystal and beautifully colored glass beads are also steadily increasing. More and more jewellery companies are working with semi-precious stones for the jewellery they create for their younger clientele.
Hair Jewellery is always a hit with little girls. Beautiful hair slides and pins are readily available. You can purchase high quality hair slides that are made out of crystals in all girly shapes imaginable. This type of children’s jewellery will not only look pretty but will also help teach little girls about style and grooming.
Jewellery for young Boys
Boys like men, are harder to shop for when it comes to jewellery. They have a very limited choice when it comes to jewellery made out of precious metals and precious stones. Perhaps other than the masculine looking ID bracelets and ID pendants the next best item available for young boys are gold chain bracelets and gold band rings. Once the little man has donned on his first suit, he can be given a pair of chain link cufflinks to give him a grown up look. Some kids can have their own essential styles like the rocker dressed children of celebrities, they appreciate funky leather and plastic jewellery to match their style.
Jewellery for Children Transitioning into Teens
Jewellery for kids who are now turning into their teenage years have to be a cross between the young adult’s style with a bit of whimsy motif still attached to it. For children in this stage, it is best to provide them with jewellery that will last them longer. Spending a little more on pre-teen jewellery will be rewarding because the kids can wear it until they are much older. Buying simply styled jewellery is advised. Perhaps, a simple gold or sterling silver necklace with a solid heart pendant adorned with a sole piece of tiny diamond.
Safety Issues with Children’s Jewellery
There has been a lot of attention paid to children’s stuff that have been manufactured in mass and imported into the country. The incident of toy recall initiated by one of the biggest toy companies in the world sent shockwaves to parents all over. The reason for the toy recall is the main cause of the concern. The company was not recalling the toys because of defects or faulty workmanship, but because the toys contained dangerous levels of lead.
Toys may seem like a far cry from kid’s jewellery, but the fact is that a lot of this jewellery is produced in mass and isolated cases have shown that some of the kid’s jewellery being produced by a certain factory also contained high levels of lead. A story was documented where dangling charms from bracelet was accidentally swallowed by a kid, a toxic test revealed it to contain high levels of lead. This is the main reason why parents are advised to pay close attention to the purchases they are making because they can really be hazardous to young kids.
Children’s Jewellery in the Future
Some jewelers who have made their name in the Children’s Jewellery niche will continue to excel in what they do. In the future, style sensibility may change yet again and children may end up richly dressed with all the finest jewellery that their parents can afford just like the ancient times. However the mass production of fashion jewellery is gaining a bigger foothold for parents who want disposable items for beauty. Whatever it is Children’s jewellery will always be around as long as the adults make a fancy of them.
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