Nail Jewelry
♫ Thursday, January 27th, 2011Nail guards are not a new phenomenon. Best known as a fashion assessory of high born Manchu women during the Ching (Qing) dynasty (1644-1912) in late 19th century China. Long finger nails were seen as symbols of wealth and luxury – these ladies were above menial tasks. You can see a portrait of the Last Empress of China in my past post which shows her long finger nail guards. These were finely made in precious metals and decorated with gemstones. See this website for pictures of 19th century finger nail guards showing varied jewelry making techniques such as wirework, enameling. cloisonne and gem inlays.
You can still buy this type of Chinese made guards as someone on YouTube did. However, there are jewelry designers who have put their own stamp on this unusual type of jewelry.
.Reference resource: Click Here.

