Laurium Silver Mines

The Athenian Greeks discovered a large vein of silver in a hilly area called Laurium near Athens around 500 B.C. The mining of this silver and making it into coins and other objects made Athens wealthy. At its peak Laurium consisted of more than 300 mines. There were thousands of miners, all of them slaves. The wealth produced by the silver allowed Athens to develop a wealthy upper class in which there were people who had the time to study, think, write, and develop many of the ideas which contributed to the origins of philosophy, art, and science which are still important today.
The picture you see here is a modern silver bracelet (not from Laurium). You can see more silver jewelry and other adornments at Beadshaper

Necklaces in Ancient Egypt

Necklaces in ancient Egypt were worn by both women and men. In addition to being worn for beauty, necklaces displayed wealth and power. The necklace worn by the Pharaoh was often in the form of a collar and made of gold. No one else would wear a necklace as elaborate as that of the Pharaoh.The Pharaoh would bestow on important noblemen the honor of wearing elaborate necklaces, although not as elaborate as that of the Pharaoh himself. Later, during the period when Christianity became the predominant religion of Egypt for a time the wearing of necklaces went out of style.
You can see the modern necklace pictured here, inspired by the necklaces of ancient Egypt,as well as other exotic necklaces at Beadshaper Necklaces and Beadshaper Stones

History of French Perfume

Although the manufacture of perfumes goes back to ancient times, perfume making developed in France beginning in the late Middle Ages when flowers were cultivated for extraction of their fragrant oils. Later, the area around the town of Grasse in southern France became known as a source of flowers for perfumes. Ultimately, France developed into the center of perfumery in Europe and the rest of the world. Perfumes were particularly popular in Europe because during those early times bathing was done infrequently. Perfumes became particularly prominent in France during the reign of Louis XV in the 1700s. His court was known as the perfumed court because of the abundance of perfume applied to people, clothing, and other articles. France remains known as the center of perfumery even today.
The glass bead flowers seen at Beadshaper Fashion Flowers don't have fragrance and can't be made into perfume, but they can be appreciated for their visual beauty.

The Copper Age

The Copper Age occurred from around 5000 BC to around 3000 BC and was the bridge from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. Excavations indicate that it must have begun in Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, and the Middle East. It was significant in that it was the beginning of smelting metal ore to make metal tools. Before then, tools were made by chiseling stones into the desired shape. Civilizations that possessed the ability to make tools and weapons out of metal were able to supercede those that relied only on stone, thus creating city states and kingdoms. The copper age ended with discovery of making bronze by alloying copper with other metals, mainly tin, to make a harder metal, more suitable for tools and weapons. Copper, being softer and more pliable, remains more suitable for jewelry, wire, and decorative purposes. Examples of copper jewelry can be seen at Beadshaper