When was gold jewellery first worn by people?

Until recently the earliest known gold jewellery was believed to date from the Sumer civilisation, which inhabited what is now southern Iraq around 3000 BC. Recent discoveries suggest however that goldsmithing first began on the shores of the Black Sea, in the land that is today Bulgaria (for more information Pointe-à-Callière museum of Montréal).

Articles displaying various techniques such as repousse, chain- making, alloying and casting have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, with the best known examples coming from the treasures of King Tutankhamun who died in 1352 BC. The Minoans on Crete produced the first known cable chain, still very popular today, and the Etruscans in Italy had developed granulation, whereby items are decorated with tiny granules of gold, by the 7th century BC.

• Back to the questions