Jewelry (also spelled as Jewellery  ) comprises ornamental objects worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. Costume Jewelry is made from less valuable materials. However, Jewelry can and has been made out of almost every kind of material.
The word is derived from the word "jewel", which was anglicized from the Old French "jouel" in around the 13th century. Further tracing leads back to the Latin word "jocale", meaning plaything.
Some cultures have a practice of keeping large amounts of wealth stored in the form of Jewelry. Jewelry can also be symbolic, as in the case of Christians wearing a crucifix in the form of Jewelry, or, as is the case in many Western cultures, married people wearing a wedding ring.
Jewelry in various forms has been made and worn by both sexes in almost every (if not every) human culture, on every inhabited continent. Personal adornment seems to be a basic human tendency.
Jewelry, particularly when made with precious materials, is generally considered valuable and desirable. A variety of precious gemstones, coins or other precious items can be used, often set into precious metals. Common metals used for Jewelry include gold, platinum or silver. Most gold alloys used in Jewelry range from 10K to 22K gold, while platinum alloys range from 900 (90% pure) to 950 (95.0% pure). The silver used in Jewelry is often sterling silver.
Common gemstones that are used include diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and opals. Dozens more are also commonly used.
Other commonly used materials include glass, such as fused glass or enamel; wood, often carved or turned; shells and other natural animal substances such as bone and ivory; and natural clay and plasticine clays, such as polymer clay.
Beads are commonly used in Jewelry. These may be made of many different substances including glass, gemstones, wood, shells, clay and polymer clay. Beaded Jewelry commonly encompasses necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and belts. Beads may be large or small. The smallest type of beads commonly used are known as seed beads; these are the beads used for the "woven" style of beaded Jewelry.

Among uncommonly used materials are fish scales.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jewelry".