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Such necklaces could be very simple, with a gem or carving carrying the burden of the charm. They could also be very elaborate, glittering with gold and gems. These necklaces were designed with the purpose of distracting the eyes of the viewer from the wearer's face and eyes-and thus protecting the wearer from the dangers of the mysterious Evil Eye.s
Earrings have a mysticism, too. The next time you put on a pair of earrings, keep in mind the fact that earrings with clips and screwbacks that can be worn without piercing the ears are a twentiethcentury invention.
From earliest times, ears had to be pierced to wear earrings. Why? Certainly, jewelers as expert as those from long before the ancient Egyptians through the famous goldsmiths like Benvenuto Cellini in the Renaissance and Faberge in the nineteenth century could have designed earrings that could be worn without having to pierce the ears, had they wanted.
Pierced ears were the custom, however-and one historian attributes the piercing to the desire to punish the ears for overhearing what they should not hear. The earrings, in turn, were all-too-human a consolation for the pain and suffering, not to mention the infections caused in those days before sterilization and antibiotics. The more decorative and expensive the earrings were, in other words, the greater was the consolation.
As jewelry became more and more elaborate, more demands were put on the maker's skill. The skill became a craft and an art. Because metals were involved, including the melting and forging of metals, the first artisans were smiths. And because the metal most highly prized in the craft was gold, the first jewelers were goldsmiths.
