Jewelry was worn by all social classes on nearly every visible part of the body except the nose. It was used to indicate social rank, for funerary equipment of the dead, as a charm to protect the living, and to add colour to the plain white linen clothes of the people.
Gold was the favourite. There were also such semi-precious stones as amethyst, quartz, crystal, onyx, carnelian, and jasper. The favorite colours were green and blue.
The social status of jewelers was low. They worked with smiths in dirty, hot conditions. Their supervisors took to themselves the credit for the work. The best examples of their craft are in the tombs of five princesses of the Middle Kingdom. Even the jewelry found in the tomb of Tutenkhamen does not show as skilled workmanship.
