HISTORY OF PERSONALIZED NECKLACES

Jewelry that is worn around someone's neck is oftentimes the least discreet and has the most size of any other piece worn. Any type of gem that someone wants to carry that is too significant to place in a ring or perhaps earrings can be made custom in a personalized necklace. The shells and stones of the earliest 'personalized' necklaces were replaced by fashionable beads of glazed pottery or glass, which is what the ancient Egyptians used. These were found throughout prehistoric grave areas. They were very valuable and served not just for ornamentation purposes but they were crucial in times of trade - serving as a type of currency for the people.

Throughout history custom necklaces soon were a sign that denoted power and authority, quickly becoming an essential part of the wardrobe - as such those with wealth and social status were the only ones to be adorned with them. Eventually, the commoners would come to wear the less valuable pieces and soon everyone was wearing these popular pieces of jewelry. In the 1500's the pendant became popular which was an ornament on a chain. Later the charms would come in the shape of letters generally denoting the initials the person wearing the piece or else it would denote the name of a local monarch which made this piece - similar to a personalized necklace. This lost its popularity by the time the sixteenth century rolled around and by the seventeenth century necklaces of all types were not the thing to wear anymore with any type of clothing.

In the 19th century folks were just wearing the chain by itself; from the thin, small chain up to the thick heavy chain with no charm or gemstone or beading of any kind. The chains that make up a necklace can be quite lovely in and of themselves. There are a large variety and they come in many tones including gold, platinum, silver, as well as materials such as ribbon, leather - as well as rubber.

What constitutes being ‘in fashion' as far as what you wear hanging from a custom necklace is pretty much a matter of what you like. Some folks like personalized name necklaces or custom name necklaces or just monogrammed necklaces. Pretty much anything can and has been hung off of a string or a chain (for a name chain) or a piece of material over the years and worn around the neck - and they're not only for women.

MEN AND CUSTOM NECKLACES

Men have prominently worn necklaces throughout history as a sign of courage for the hunters, wealth and power for the rich aristocrats; and did so up through the eighteenth century when they became more preferred by the ladies. They made a comeback for the men in the 60's and 70's when we saw the hippie era and the disco age, as these times made it more fashionable for the American and European men to wear custom necklaces as part of the pop culture fashion.

The love beads were passed around in the 60's and there were chains ( similar to those found on a name chain) of gold being worn in the 70's; some bearing crosses or other charms for the dance craze of the disco days. This fashion statement carried on into the late 20th century for the hip-hop era when bold chains (name chains included) would hang proudly being made out of either gold or platinum, and stay flashy having pendants displayed of diamond encrusted jewels - showing off wealth.

Certain men have always displayed special personalized necklaces within the positions that they hold in the communities they reside in, positions such as the highest ranks of clergy, including those of the Roman Catholics. This maintaining their fashion/tradition of wearing expensive and elaborate chains around their necks with massive hanging crucifixes as well as crosses - overall being a big part of their religious presentation.

PENDANTS

A pendant is a beautiful ornamentation that you use to hang off of another piece of jewelry including either a custom necklace, or a brooch, or bracelet - and even an earring. Pendants can be seen in many different shapes, sizes, colors, materials, fashions to include larger gemstones, cameos, pearls, lockets, crosses, charms, even watches. In prehistoric times, amulets served as pendants and were among the first forms of jewelry in those days. These were used within the 21st century in order to provide good luck or, as some would envision it to be, as protection from disaster or evil.

Pendants have the ability to be detached from whatever piece of jewelry that you affix it to so that you may wear it on different pieces as you see fit - with various different styles. They are gorgeous pieces that many use as mementos to pass to other members of the family - through the many generations of the family.

A locket is generally a smaller type of pendant that comes in a flat or round, and sometimes oval case with a cover that is hinged, and is worn generally suspended by a chain on a custom necklace in a variety of different fashions. These hold sentimental value for the wearer and will hold a memento for the person wearing it - from another person - including a photograph or a lock of someone's hair. They can be engraved and set with various gemstones or birthstones of loved ones. In the early ages, lockets were considered to be religious symbols that would hold a saint's relic. They were especially incredible and well liked in the 18th and 19th centuries, and when photography was developed in the 20th century, their popularity soared as folks could incorporate pictures into the locket.

In the 19th century, this type of gift was especially sentimental for one to give to another as a sign of eternal devotion. Lockets could also at the time be used as cases for men's watches or ‘pocket watches'; and would be worn suspended from a watch chain.

FASHION STATEMENT

Women within the 18th century would use the custom necklace as a central piece to their fashion-wear. It would be the main part of a matching set of jewelry to include earrings, brooches, bracelets, tiara, and pendants. The custom necklace would be shown off in the evening with a gown having a low decolletage. It would be the highlight of the outfit. During the daytime, custom necklaces were not worn as much with the higher necklines of the day - instead they were replaced by the brooch or the pendant.

The idea of the formal wear of the matching set lasted throughout the beginning of the 20th century - at which point fashion became less formal. During this time, the more affordable costum jewelry, which was still found to be just as nice with dressing patterns of the time, came onto the scene. There were new, less costly materials, including plastic; as well as new technologies such as mass production, as well as mass media - all of which ultimately increased social acceptance. In the late 20th century personalized necklaces were designed to meet those needs based on the type of occasion or the person's taste, as well as preference; the levels of affordability and the statement these custom necklaces made in the fashion world were astonishing.

THE VARIOUS CUSTOM NECKLACE MATERIALS

There are a number of materials that have held the 'highest' standard within fashion throughout Western cultural history - materials which undoubtedly include precious gems and metals such as gold and diamond and, of course, pearl. Diamond would be among the most expensive of the materials; depicting glamour, wealth, and prestige throughout the course of history since the beginning of modern jewelry. Roman women had the understandable tendency to favour pearls. Early 18th century neoclassical dress would see women in formal wear including strings of pearls. Young American and British women within the 20th century would get/wear gifts of short strands of pearls to denote the special sixteenth birthday; and it is still the first choice for alot of women for wedding attire as well as business women in the professional corporate world today.

PERSONALIZED NECKLACES

It is difficult to trace a certain period of history to pinpoint the beginning of personalized name necklaces. The research directs and leads us straight to a reference of the ‘Carrie' gold name necklace from ‘Sex and the City', even though the history of the name necklace is most likely much more significant and goes much further and much deeper than that.

Wearing a custom necklace affords the wearer the opportunity of self identification. These personalized necklaces give teenagers who first receive them the opportunity to get comfortable in their own skin. They see their name on a significant piece of jewelry, and this allows them to tell the world that they are here, and this is who they are. They're ready to take on whatever comes along with their own form of brio.

There are other reasons to wear custom name necklaces, however. They don't necessarily have to have a name on them. They can say whatever you like, and be personalized necklaces that exist in any form that you would like them to be.

WAYS TO PERSONALIZE YOUR NECKLACE

There are a variety of ways to make a custom necklace just for you. It can be a gold name necklace, a custom name necklace memorializing a loved one, or a personalized necklace in some other format. Let’s look at various ways to customize.

- Year of wedding. You don’t need to have a necklace with a name or monogram on it. The custom necklace that you have can denote the year that you got married. No-one will know what the date means but it will have a particular sentimental value for you and your husband.

- Baby’s name. When your baby is born, you can get a gold name necklace with the baby’s name showcased to always wear and have their birthstone attached to the nameplate.

- Loved one. You can get a monogram rather than a name of your loved one who you want to remember as a custom piece and wear it in a cluster with a custom necklace that has your name on it. It's in fashion to wear multiple personalized necklaces together.

- Words. Have personalized necklaces that depict words with special meanings for you. There are folks who have gotten words such as cancer because they are a survivor and want the personalized necklace to not only be their reminder - but to showcase their courage and strength to the world.

- Friendship. There are custom necklaces that you can have made for your friend that are just charms engraved with personalized messages that you share (with your friend) - to symbolize the friendship that you share with each other.

PERSONALIZING FRIENDSHIP WITH A CUSTOM NECKLACE

Having friends is a crucial part of living an enduring, fruitful, and lasting life that is full of beautiful and happy memories. Without friends, it is said that your life will not be especially long-lasting, most likely a very short-lived, and sad life. You need to have a group of people surrounding you that are diverse and well rounded - who will stand by and support you throughout any situation. With these people in line, you need to mark their place with custom jewelry (like a custom necklace). Most often in these particular situations, custom necklaces are the way to go to show that they are special in your life. So, who should you share these personalized necklaces with? Let's look at what types of friends you should look for when thinking about purchasing various name necklaces.

- Best friend. A loyal best friend is the one who ultimately keeps your wits for you. This is the person who does not judge and offers their support to you through any crisis or any type of situation that you go through - no matter what is happening. They know all of your secrets, all the good and bad, and they are still your biggest fan. This type of friend would receive a custom necklace generally half of a best friend necklace.

- Travel partner. There are so many different places to go and see - and who doesn't need a companion to see these places with. This person will be just as excited to go on adventures around the world as you are and may be the one to initiate the trips. This is the partner that you need to give a personalized necklace that holds a compass to.

- Honest Friend. We aren't always our best self and one of the folks that we call "friend" needs to be the tough love kind of companion who tells us like it is - whether we want to hear it or not. This person doesn't hold back and is able to say the things we need to hear whether we get mad or not. We can argue and fight but still remain friends. You need the brutally honest friend who will tell you that a situation is not the perfect, ideal place that you think it is - and takes you out of a bad spot when you have rose-colored glasses on. This confidant is your savior and may not be your favorite person at times, but will be your hero in the end. This person needs an anchor pendant custom necklace.

- Wise. Everybody needs a smart friend who advises us without making us feel less than we are. ‘Never look down on someone unless you're helping them up.' this is per Jesse Jackson, a very wise statement. It's important to inspire and challenge each other to do better for ourselves each and every day. This is someone who might be just a few steps ahead in the game and can guide you in the right path, not their path, but the right way to go on your own path. This person would appreciate a nice custom pocket watch necklace (or a simple custom name necklace).

- Culture. It is nice for all of us to meet and enjoy members of different cultures and become friends. This world would be so much better if this would happen everywhere. This allows the chance to try various customs, different values, and a range of traditions outside of your own. You may even find that you want to take on a different way of doing things than you are used to. This would be a person that would appreciate a personalized necklace depicting your culture - as they are trying to learn your customs, and values, and traditions as well. A locket on a custom necklace would be ideal.

- Opposites attract. It's important to develop friendships with people who may not necessarily have the same ideals as you do; so that you can see the world in a different capacity than you do, challenge your own ideas and values - and ultimately see things in a different light. They may bring you to understand things in a different way and you may come to have a new vision after having a few healthy debates on various topics. A perfect personalized necklace would be a small time capsule pendant necklace.

- Work. It's really nice to have a confidant at work. This is a place where you spend a whole lot of your life, and you don't want to spend it just sitting in your cubby chopping away at the pile of work on your desk. That would bring about depression. It's important to have someone that you can break up the day with and vent your frustrations or express your uncontrollable elation with. This is a person who can relate to what you have to say. It isn't necessary that the two of you get together outside of the office. That is where the other friends come into play. If you hit it off really well, then this person would suit well as a person to do things with on the weekends or after work in the evening, though...But, that's not necessary. This may not be someone that you necessarily want to BLATANTLY exchange a personalized piece of jewelry with. It may not go over too well at the office, so be careful about when and where you exchange the personalized necklace.

There is a personalized necklace or a custom necklace out there for any type of friendship that you have or a variety of different custom name necklaces that you can choose from and different personalized name necklaces that you can decide on (for all friends and family). It doesn't have to be your name, a friend's name, a loved one's name. It can simply be a word to denote something important to you. Whatever the reason for your choice of custom necklace, it will certainly hold sentimental value for you of some kind when you see/wear it. That has been the job of personalized necklaces throughout history for centuries; to depict some kind of meaning and hold some type of value for the wearer. Whether they hold a name, or a charm, or a pendant, or a stone, or a bead, or a bone, or a tooth; custom necklaces will always tell a story.