Moroccan Jewelry from Yesterday to Today
Traditional jewelry use to be an adornment that varied according to regions, tribes and clans.
Generally, it was composed of a diadem or a dressing covering the head or the temples or ornaments braided into the hair. Others types included earrings or voluminous rings held together by a small chain tied on top of the head, pins used as broaches bolding cloaks, chest ornaments, ankle and wrist bracelets, and rings.
There are two kinds of jewelry : rural and city.
Rural jewelry
The are generally in silver ,the techniques used to make them and their decorations vary according to region. The most common technique is casting. filigree is mainly found in Essaouira and Tiznit, although there are fewer craftsmen now and the craft is disappearing.
jewelry is enhanced by enameling, while niello or black enamel is also widely found.
They can be set off with coral, cornellian, amber, coins, born, etc. Apparently unique, the southern region on the Mauritanian border seems to have maintained almost intact its customs as much as for the ornaments as well as how they are made.
Women still wear their jewelry-weighted veils, and craftsmen still melt silver in earthen-wear crucibles or hollowed stones, using the tools of the ancestors; Only the blowtorch has now occasionally reptaced the forge.
Urban jewelry
The symbolism of urban jewelry is the same, but it is made of gold or gold-plated silver. The technique to make it is more ela¬borate and refined. It was the work of Jewish craftsmen, grouped together in Fes, Meknes, Tetouan or Tangier. It was adorned with polished but not faceted precious stones (rubies, garnets, eme¬ralds or pearls), The shape of these jewels can remind one of Byzantine jewelry.
Above all,florai designs and arabesques were used.Among the most sumptuous is the Lebba, the fabulous bridal necklace. Curiously, it is urban jewelry that has suffered least from modernity and has better adapted to it. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings have experienced very little change.