Exodus 28:11 - "As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; you shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree."

In Palestine, the use of jewelry seems to have been common as long as 10,000 years ago. These ancient peoples wore ornaments of shell, bone, and fish vertebrae. In all times, both men and women wore jewelry, although in later times, aside from the very wealthy and the royalty, the men became more subdued in their ornamentation. Men did use staffs, which were often carved and inlaid, and they wore rings, which they used as signets. But this was generally the extent of their show.

Among the women, however, it was considerably different. Abraham’s servant took along two bracelets to give Rebekah. Earrings of the Israelite women were melted in the wilderness to make the golden calf.

Anklets were fastened to the ankle band of each leg. They jingled and tinkled as the owner walked, and this made them pleasing to the women. They were as common as bracelets. Crescents and pendants were worn on the ear or about the neck. They were made of colored glass, brass, silver, and gold. Amulets were ornaments, gems or scrolls worn on the ear or around the neck. Sometimes they were used to ward off evil spirits and charms. The armlet was a bracelet worn on the upper part of the arm. Rings were worn as frequently in the nose as on the finger.

Ancient jewelers needed both artistic ability and manual dexterity. They first formed a wax model of the article they were making. Next, they placed the model in the casting ring and poured plaster into the ring to form a mold. This mold was inserted into a furnace to melt the wax. A metal model was cast from the plaster mold.

Pieces of jewelry were soldered together and the soldered ends were smoothed. To do all these intricate things, the jeweler used hand tools for cutting, sawing, filing, and polishing.

The early Hebrews possessed only limited amounts of precious stones. Aside from booty carried in from surrounding areas, jewels entered Palestine through regional distribution, especially through the traders of Phoenicia. The art of cutting and polishing stones probably developed as uncut stones were imported.

Today’s jewelers and lapidaries make some magnificent articles for our enjoyment, and their methods of polishing and engraving the stones are very similar to the methods used so long ago. It is truly amazing how many occupations exist today that are virtually unchanged in their methodology from the ancient days.