«The impulse to adorn the self and to craft objects from precious materials (as defined by a given culture) are among the most innately human with jewelry being found in societies and communities throughout time. Such objects have always conveyed messages affection, social status, faith, or power. By extension, a jewel is a “document”. By “reading” it, we can discover its intended use, and the significance of the decora- tions and inscriptions, thus seeing reflected the spirit of the time, the cultural Zeitgeist. Jewels are also objects: that result not only from a significant...