During almost numberless generations of time, stretching back to the days of ancient civilizations, jewelry has proven to have played a central role in various aspects of culture and societies. In man cases, the fashionable jewelry that was worn reflected many aspects of the people, from artistry to economics to conflicts. And, the jewelry boxes of an era also hold many clues about the artifacts they protected, as well as the people who treasured the pieces.

In fact, it is fair to declare that the history and the significance of the intricate jewelry boxes date back for as many centuries as the pieces of jewelry. Especially in ancient cultures, fine jewelry was revered and was often used to display the position and the power of a particular person or family. In addition, fashion jewelry and embellished items, such as various gemstone and diamond jewelry pieces have always been, as they are today, outward expressions of wealth.

In this way, the jewelry boxes from different eras are also able to reveal a great deal of additional information about the culture and the people. Since precious metals have always been scarce and the refining process more challenging in some eras, fine jewelry was always carefully taken care of and stored in jewelry boxes that protected the pieces.

Historically, jewelry boxes were specially designed and hand-crafted items created by skilled craftsmen. In fact, in some instances, the same artisans responsible for the wonderful fine jewelry that was being made also put their talents to work to build beautiful jewelry boxes. In this way, their works of jewelry art would be housed in proper vessels that would do justice and honor to their craft.

Many of the traditions of good workmanship that went into jewelry boxes of yesteryear are still quite alive and well today. Just as one can find an enormous selection of fine jewelry, from simple costume jewelry to highly embellished fashion jewelry, there is also a wide array of jewelry boxes to carefully store the precious items that people collect.

Since so many people do collect a significant number of jewelry pieces over the years, often jewelry boxes that once provided adequate space are replaced with a larger container. Some people simply buy another jewelry box or two, while others decide to go with grander options. One of the common items seen nowadays, which is an offshoot of the basic jewelry box, is a jewelry armoire.

The jewelry armoires are really more of a piece of furniture than the standard jewelry boxes that are common in many homes. They can range in height from about three feet to about six feet. They typically feature swinging doors on the front which reveal many specially designed nooks, crooks and crannies for storing different types of fine jewelry, such as diamond rings, silver jewelry, gold jewelry and watches.