The Evolution of Jewellery: How Style, Symbolism, and Craftsmanship Shaped the World of Fine Jewellery
The Story of Jewellery and the Human Spirit
For as long as human civilisation has existed, jewellery has carried meaning beyond ornamentation. It has symbolised power, faith, protection, and love, a language of identity expressed in metal and stone. Every civilisation has shaped jewellery to mirror its values and aspirations.
At Layaz New Zealand, we believe jewellery is humanity’s oldest form of storytelling. Each piece captures emotion, craftsmanship, and culture, a conversation between the past and the present. Our heritage, built over three generations, draws inspiration from this timeless continuum. From ancient artisans to modern designers, the evolution of jewellery tells a story that is also ours.
Power and Divinity: The Beginnings of Jewellery
The earliest known jewellery dates back over 5,000 years, to civilisations that saw adornment as divine. In Ancient Egypt (3000–30 BC), gold was believed to embody the sun god Ra’s eternal energy, while turquoise and lapis lazuli symbolised protection and rebirth. Pharaohs and queens adorned themselves with intricate collars, scarabs, and amulets meant to guide them in the afterlife.
Beyond Egypt, the Mesopotamians crafted delicate gold filigree, using wire so fine it seemed woven by air. Persian artisans mastered granulation, fusing microscopic gold beads to create texture and depth: techniques that modern goldsmiths, including ours at Layaz, still admire for their precision.
These early pieces were not made for decoration alone; they were designed for eternity. Their craftsmanship reminds us that beauty gains its power from meaning a principle that defines Layaz’s own philosophy of creating fine jewellery that endures.
Balance and Beauty: The Greek and Roman Legacy
As civilisation expanded across the Mediterranean, jewellery became a dialogue between art and intellect. The Ancient Greeks sought harmony in design, crafting wreath-like crowns, filigree necklaces, and gemstone-studded pendants that celebrated the divine and the human alike. Each motif carried symbolism: the laurel for victory, the dove for love, the serpent for wisdom.
The Romans transformed adornment into a display of identity and empire. Gold, silver, and bronze were shaped into cameos and signet rings that signified wealth and lineage. Romans were among the first to use engraved gemstones as seals a precursor to personalised jewellery that still resonates today.
Many of the techniques pioneered during these eras like gemstone carving, metal alloying, and granulation laid the foundation for modern fine jewellery. At Layaz, we see their legacy in our pursuit of proportion, balance, and the harmony between artistry and precision.
Faith and Heritage: The Middle Ages
Between 500 and 1500 CE, jewellery in Europe became a reflection of faith and hierarchy. Goldsmiths worked for both nobility and the Church, creating pieces that symbolised devotion and divine protection. Gemstones were assigned moral and spiritual values: sapphires for truth, rubies for passion, and emeralds for eternal youth.
Brooches, rosaries, and pendants were crafted with intricate enamel work, while heraldic motifs marked family lineage. Jewellery served as both statement and safeguard worn close to the heart as a charm of faith.
At Layaz, we see echoes of this spiritual craftsmanship in every bespoke creation. Our gemstone selections are guided not just by brilliance, but by the meanings they carry. We honour the Middle Ages’ belief that jewellery should hold both aesthetic and emotional power.
Art and Rebirth: The Renaissance Era
During the Renaissance (1400–1600), jewellery evolved alongside art and science. Goldsmiths were regarded as artists, their workshops buzzing with innovation. Techniques such as enamelling, repoussé, and gemstone intarsia flourished. Jewels became mini masterpieces celebrating love, intellect, and discovery.
Designs shifted from purely religious to humanistic themes like cherubs, flora, mythological figures inspired by the revival of classical art. Coloured gemstones like garnet, spinel, and sapphire were set in intricate gold frames, while pearls symbolised purity and wisdom.
For modern jewellers, the Renaissance stands as the birth of design thinking. It represents curiosity and dialogue between creator and patron much like our bespoke jewellery process at Layaz, where clients and designers collaborate to turn emotion into form. Each sketch, gemstone choice, and setting is a continuation of that legacy of artistic rebirth.
Love and Sentiment: The Victorian Era
By the 19th century, jewellery had become an expression of personal emotion. The Victorian Era (1837–1901), defined by Queen Victoria’s long reign, wove symbolism into design. Flowers, serpents, hearts, and lockets conveyed affection, remembrance, or mourning. Every ornament told a story.
Early Victorian “Romantic” pieces celebrated courtship and nature, while later “Mourning” jewellery incorporated onyx, jet, and black enamel after the death of the Prince Consort. Hair jewellery a lock of a loved one’s hair encased in gold embodied intimacy and loss.
This was an age when jewellery became deeply human. Sentiment guided style, and craftsmanship was driven by emotion. Layaz continues this tradition through heirloom jewellery redesign and remodelling, transforming inherited pieces into modern keepsakes that preserve the emotional weight of history.
Because jewellery, like memory, should evolve without erasing its origins.
Geometry and Glamour: The Art Deco Revolution
The 1920s and 1930s introduced a new language of design bold, geometric, and full of movement. Art Deco reflected the optimism of the modern world. Platinum replaced yellow gold, emerald-cut diamonds became icons of refinement, and the clean lines of architecture inspired a new rhythm of beauty.
Designers embraced symmetry and contrast: onyx beside diamond, coral beside jade. Women, newly liberated, adorned themselves with long pearl strands and stacked bracelets that captured independence and glamour.
Art Deco remains one of the most influential styles in jewellery history, its bold confidence still alive today. Many Layaz clients are drawn to its sharp geometry and timeless elegance proof that design rooted in balance never loses relevance.
Expression and Individuality: Modern and Contemporary Jewellery
The second half of the 20th century redefined luxury. Jewellery became less about social rank and more about self-expression. Designers experimented with materials, mixing precious and unconventional elements to create wearable art.
Modern jewellery embraced minimalism and architectural form, while contemporary design championed creativity and sustainability. The late 20th century also marked the birth of ethical sourcing, with increasing awareness of environmental and human impact in the mining industry.
At Layaz, we are proud to reflect this evolution in our own studio. As a third-generation family business, we have watched craftsmanship evolve from hand tools to precision technology. Yet one thing remains unchanged: our commitment to artistry, integrity, and personal meaning.
Through our bespoke jewellery process, we merge traditional craftsmanship with modern innovation, ensuring each creation is both authentic and enduring. Every gemstone is ethically sourced, every metal responsibly refined, and every design crafted with purpose.
What Jewellery Teaches Us About Time
Across millennia, jewellery has survived wars, dynasties, and revolutions outliving empires yet always reflecting them. What makes it extraordinary is not only its material, but its message.
Ancient artisans created for eternity, Renaissance goldsmiths designed for intellect, Victorians for emotion, and contemporary jewellers for individuality. Each age mirrors our collective search for meaning through beauty.
Jewellery teaches us that craftsmanship is timeless when it serves the human spirit. Whether shaped from clay or carved from diamond, its purpose remains the same, to preserve what words cannot.
At Layaz, we see this continuity every day. A modern engagement ring shares the same soul as a pharaoh’s amulet or a Roman signet. Each was born from intention, emotion, and artistry, the true hallmarks of fine jewellery.
The Layaz Perspective: Where Heritage Meets Modern Craft
Our journey at Layaz spans three generations of master craftsmen who have shaped and refined the art of jewellery-making. What began as a family trade has become a philosophy, a pursuit of excellence grounded in heritage and guided by innovation.
We specialise in bespoke fine jewellery that bridges eras: the elegance of Victorian sentiment, the precision of Art Deco geometry, the creativity of contemporary design. Our Auckland design studio brings these inspirations to life through ethical sourcing, sustainable practices, and meticulous craftsmanship.
Through our jewellery redesign service, we transform old pieces into new legacies repolishing gemstones, melting precious metals, and reshaping stories. For us, sustainability is not a trend; it is respect for the material and the memory it holds.
Every Layaz piece is more than jewellery. It is a story told through time, ancient in inspiration, modern in design, and eternal in meaning.
From Ancient Gold to Modern Grace
The evolution of jewellery is the evolution of humanity itself: a chronicle of beauty, culture, and connection. From sacred Egyptian amulets to contemporary bespoke rings, each era has taught us something about craftsmanship and the human desire to create.
At Layaz New Zealand, we carry that legacy forward. Every gemstone we select, every design we sketch, is informed by centuries of artistry and guided by our belief that true luxury is timeless.
Because fine jewellery is not merely worn it is remembered.
