A bijou (plural: bijoux) from the French bijou (pl. bijoux) is an intricate jewellery piece incorporated into clothing, or worn by itself on the body.

Use

Besides its decorative function, a bijou serves as a signal for many other purposes. These have varied over time and space, and really its perceived function is dictated by the wearer, not those who view it. Nevertheless, it is possible roughly to categorise:

In high society

A bijou can be a mark of

social status Social status is the level of social value a person is considered to possess. More specifically, it refers to the relative level of respect, honour, assumed competence, and deference accorded to people, groups, and organizations in a society. Stat ...

, and indicates whether the wearer is married, engaged, a

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante, ( ; from french: débutante , "female beginner") or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and, as a new adult, is presented to society at a formal " ...

, and so forth. Traditionally, these kind of bijou have

jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

, or other black stone.

As member

Bijoux can indicate the membership of some group, be it a religion, a profession, a political allegiance, one of ethnicity or sex, or allegiance to a

sports team A sports team is a group of individuals who play sports (sports player), usually team sports, on the same team. The number of players in the group depends on type of the sports requirements. Historically, sports teams and the people who play ...

: as

wristband Wristbands are encircling strips worn on the wrist or lower forearm. The term can be used to refer to a bracelet-like band, similar to that of a wristwatch, to the cuff or other part of a sleeve that covers the wrist, or decorative or function ...

s might do in other cultures. They are also used as purely identification symbols, for example the Companions of the Tour de France wear them as

earring An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings, which clip onto the lobe). Earrings have been worn by people in different civilizations an ...

s to show their allegiance to a particular rider. In a crowd, it may thus distinguish them from others supporting other riders, depending on how dedicated each are to recognise the symbol.

As a magic or religious symbol

Bijoux are often used for physical therapy, like

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...

s. Generally, a significant date is inscribed thereon, and perhaps their birth colour, or their astrological sign, a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

, or other magic symbols. They may also be used for fun in guessing-games. The date, generally, is that of the birth of the wearer. A fish symbol, often called an

Ichthys The ichthys or ichthus (), from the Koine Greek, Greek (, 1st cent. AD Koine Greek pronunciation: , "fish") is (in its modern rendition) a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point ...

, indicates that the wearer is a Christian. 3 diamond rings

In daily life

A bijou can be used in daily life as various significands by the wearer, and can be put on scarves, capes, hats, handbags, and so on.

As a gift of love

Bijoux are often given as a symbol of love, specifically to one person. It has a special meaning to the wearer, and similarly to that of an

engagement ring An engagement ring, also known as a betrothal ring, is a ring indicating that the person wearing it is engaged to be married, especially in Western cultures. A ring is presented as an engagement gift by a partner to their prospective spouse when ...

, is displayed publicly and proudly. In French it is sometimes called a

souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

, but this is a

false friend In linguistics, a false friend is either of two words in different languages that look or sound similar, but differ significantly in meaning. Examples include English ''embarrassed'' and Spanish ''embarazada'' 'pregnant'; English ''parents'' ...

, being the infinitive for the verb "to remember". ''Bijouterie'', the art of making or wearing bijoux, has thus developed its own private language or

rebus A rebus () is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+) ...

known only to the initiated. Symbols may be religious or allegorical (two hands intertwined, for example, indicate the love of two fools, like

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

);

Pansies The garden pansy (''Viola'' × ''wittrockiana'') is a type of large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section ''Melanium'' ("the pansies") of the genus ''Viola'', p ...

(french: fleurs de pensée, literally "Flowers of thought") indicate "I am thinking of you". Sometimes the bijou will have, hidden under a clasp, a photograph of the lover-to-be, or a strand of their hair, or one of their

baby teeth Deciduous teeth or primary teeth, also informally known as baby teeth, milk teeth, or temporary teeth,Illustrated Dental Embryology, Histology, and Anatomy, Bath-Balogh and Fehrenbach, Elsevier, 2011, page 255 are the first set of teeth in the ...

. The bijou is usually given as a symbol of eternal love, and also its fragility: it can be easily broken, lost or discarded. Sometimes the

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...

is made of glass to emphasise this fragility and essential uselessness, such as those made by Foire de Beaucaire ( Gard-France) in the 18th century (The name comes from the small cry made by the wearer when it was torn from her.)

As a promise of sex

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

writes of the bijou's function thus in his novel ''Les Bijoux'', as does

Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominen ...

in ''

Les bijoux indiscrets ''The Indiscreet Jewels'' (or ''The Indiscreet Toys'', or ''The Talking Jewels''; french: Les Bijoux indiscrets) is the first novel by Denis Diderot, published anonymously in 1748. It is an allegory that portrays Louis XV of France as Mangogul, S ...

''. (Roughly, "

The Indiscreet Jewels ''The Indiscreet Jewels'' (or ''The Indiscreet Toys'', or ''The Talking Jewels''; french: Les Bijoux indiscrets) is the first novel by Denis Diderot, published anonymously in 1748. It is an allegory that portrays Louis XV of France as Mangogul, S ...

"). In both novels, the bijou serves as a symbol, like a pink carnation may do in English culture. It is worn by the wearer to show that she is available but must be wooed, before any touch, sight or smell, and is an erotic act of

self-denial Self-denial (related but different from self-abnegation or self-sacrifice) is an act of letting go of the self as with altruistic abstinence – the willingness to forgo personal pleasures or undergo personal trials in the pursuit of the increase ...

. As a well-known symbol, this same object can still have various uses. Among others, it is a symbol of emancipation and a symbol of

sexual equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

, but most people in Western culture wear it as a sign of faithfulness, be it in marriage, religion, or society. Not to wear one is a statement in itself.

History

Prehistory

Body ornamentation predates that of

writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...

. Some consider it as itself part of human evolution, and call it the , the rise of

Symbolic culture Symbolic culture, or nonmaterial culture, is the ability to learn and transmit behavioral traditions from one generation to the next by the invention of things that exist entirely in the symbolic realm. Symbolic culture is usually conceived as the c ...

. The oldest well-identified bijoux are some 45 pieces unearthed from Blombes, South Africa. These perforated and styled bijoux have been dated to being years old. Beyond Africa, Yvette Taborin has devoted her life to studying the use of language symbols in Europe. She divides her analysis of the first objects of interaction between people into two types: those that are simply to collect things, as

hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

s do, and those that are deliberately made or modified to be

ornament An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration * Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts * Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve ...

s. Taborin does not classify on which material or source these ornaments were made from. Most paleoarcheology concentrates on remains of bodies themselves, such as

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s, or animal remains such as teeth. Taborin took a different tack, to investigate the remains of those around them. In doing so, she literally unearthed a whole new classification and understanding of our prehistoric ancestors, based on scientific evidence and statistics. For example, she established that the teeth used as ornaments in jewellery were not statistically correlated with the animals living thereabouts, neither browsers nor carnivores, so that they were specifically ornamental and not just "spare parts" after killing an animal to eat it. Most ancient jewellery is of bone, ivory, antler or some soft stone (such as

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

). The diversity and manufacture of these pieces, then, indicates a significant development in human evolution, especially as it comes in such various forms (hairbands, placed in clothing, bracelets, anklets, and so forth).

Bronze Age

In Europe, the Celtic people were foremost in their work in bijou and filigree; strapwork variations on the

celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

are still popular today. Once metal had become part of the human way of life, and particularly during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

, various techniques such as

filigree Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork. In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver, ma ...

and embossing. An enormous variety of objects, of the highest quality, have been found. Bijouterie flourished in the civilisations around the

Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...

, and slowly but surely, bijouitiers established a trade and business, passing on their knowledge through

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

s and adapting their wares to the tastes of their clients and the fashion of the day.

Recorded history

Parure_realizzata_per_la_regina_Farida_d'Egitto_(1934)

*In Ancient Egypt and contemporaneously but disparately in Western Africa, bijouterie was considered a form of high art. *In the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

, Native Americans had a culture of making bijoux from gold.

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

, indeed, ransacked much gold of this sort on his return to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. The art of bijouterie was pretty much stable, over many centuries, and reserved and codified as a

profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...

. *Metalworking techniques developed during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

made bijoux affordable to all, so they were no longer considered mere luxuries for the rich. *In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, French soldiers wore bijoux carefully selected to indicate their rank and speciality. **These would often be made simply of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

*In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the new industry of bijoux manufacture in France was paralysed; but they responded by producing , with the emblems of regiments and other army units, to wear on their uniforms. *After the second world war, in the optimistic spirit of the time, with more money, more hope, and more future, bijou once again became part of daily life as a way to express thanks and love.

Modern day

After the 1950s, three distinct strands of the art developed: * ''Joaillerie'', made as one-off pieces or in

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

s, in

precious metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. ...

and

s. * ''Bijouterie fantaisie'', made of many new materials such as plastic * ''Bijouterie artisanale'', again made as one-offs or in limited editions, but not of high-valued material.

Modern classification

* ''

Parure A parure () is a set of various items of matching jewelry, which rose to popularity in early 19th-century Europe. Terminology A parure typically consists of a combination of a matching necklace, earrings, brooch, bracelet and often a diadem or tia ...

'' : A collection of several bijoux. often comprising those for the neck, head and arms.

Head and shoulder

* Couronne * Boucle d'oreille or pendant d'oreille,

s ** Créole (bijou) ( Creole) ** Dormeuse (bijou) (

Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

ing) ** Poissarde * Diadème ( Diadomic) * Coiffe de cygne (Swan neck) * Épingle à chapeau (On a hat) * Épingle à cheveux (In the hair) *

Ferronnière A ferronnière is a style of headband that encircles the wearer's forehead, usually with a small jewel suspended in the centre. The original form of the headband was worn in late fifteenth-century Italy, and was rechristened a ferronnière at th ...

(metaphorically, after the painting by Leonardo da Vinci of the "Unknown Woman") *

Tiare ''Gardenia taitensis'', also called Tahitian gardenia or tiaré flower, is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is an evergreen tropical shrub that grows to tall and has glossy dark green leaves that are long and are oppositely arrang ...

(Tiara) * Bijou dentaire (Teeth) * Implant cornéen (literally, "

Cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power ...

l implant")

Wrist and arms

* Anneau (bijou) * Bague (bijou) ** Alliance (bijou) ** Chevalière (Horseman, cavalier) ** Marquise (bague) * Bouton de manchette (

Buttonhole Buttonholes are reinforced holes in fabric that buttons pass through, allowing one piece of fabric to be secured to another. The raw edges of a buttonhole are usually finished with stitching. This may be done either by hand or by a sewing machine. ...

, specifically when used to put a decoration such as a flower or bijou) * Bracelet ** Gourmette or identity bracelet; dog tag * Jonc * Montre-bracelet (

Watch strap A watch strap, watch band, watch bracelet or watch belt is a bracelet that straps a wrist watch onto the wrist. Watch straps may be made of leather, plastic, rubber, cloth, or metal, sometimes in combination. It can be regarded as a fashion item, ...

)

Back

* Collier, collar ** Je-ne-baise-plus (I don't sleep around any more) ** Sautoir ** Torque (collier) (Collar, roughly,

choker A choker is a close-fitting necklace worn around the neck, typically 14 inch to 16 inch in length. Chokers can be made of a variety of materials, including velvet, plastic, beads, latex, leather, metal, such as silver, gold, or platinum, etc. The ...

) ** Collier ras du cou (Literally, "From neck to arse") * Pendentif

Chest

* Agrafe (bijou) * Badge * Broche (bijou) * Épingle à cravate (

Tie pin A tie pin (or tiepin, also known as a stick pin/stickpin) is a neckwear-controlling device, originally worn by wealthy English gentlemen to secure the folds of their cravats. History 19th century Tie pins were first popularized at the begin ...

) * Ferret (

Aglet An aglet ( ) or aiglet is a small sheath, often made of plastic or metal, attached at each end of a shoelace, a cord, or a drawstring. An aglet keeps the fibers of the lace or cord from unraveling; its firmness and narrow profile make it easier ...

; a

) * Fibule (On one's

rib In vertebrate anatomy, ribs ( la, costae) are the long curved bones which form the rib cage, part of the axial skeleton. In most tetrapods, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the ches ...

s) * Pectoral * Pin's

Elsewhere

* Amulette (

Amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...

) * Bijou de peau (skin) * Boîte à bijoux (tin, box of bijou) * Boucle de ceinture (Navel stud: Navel piercing) * Bracelet de cheville * Breloque * Camée *

Cassolette A ''cassolette'' (from the diminutive form of the French word ''cassole'', a small container) is a small porcelain, glass, or metal container used for the cooking and serving of individual dishes. The word also refers to dishes served in such a cont ...

(small glass) * Chaîne ** Châtelaine * Chapelet * Médaille * Médaillon * Montre (

Watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

) ** Montre-bracelet ( Watch-chain) ** Montre-gousset )( Watch-pocket or roughly

Pocket watch A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a watch, wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wr ...

) * Piercing *

Pomander A pomander, from French ''pomme d'ambre'', i.e., apple of amber, is a ball made for perfumes, such as ambergris (hence the name), musk, or civet. The pomander was worn or carried in a vase, also known by the same name, as a protection against in ...

Solitaire Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...

, an item of jewellery that stands on its own

Distinctions

A ''

parure A parure () is a set of various items of matching jewelry, which rose to popularity in early 19th-century Europe. Terminology A parure typically consists of a combination of a matching necklace, earrings, brooch, bracelet and often a diadem or tia ...

'', if made since the 18th century, should be an ensemble (assembly) of several bijoux: * The ''petite parure'' has a piece for the neck, and earrings, and a brooch * The ''grande parure'' has those plus a diadem and two bracelets.

Sources

* *

Use