The act of decorating the human body with various ornaments predates written records. Whether it's shells and fragments of animal teeth, or a dazzling diamond rock, we humans always seem to find a way to appreciate the beauty of these natural gifts from nature. Let's face it, who doesn't like wearing a beautiful bling?

But here are ten types of jewelry, even the most trendy over-accessories may reconsider.

Related: 10 fascinating facts about corpse fashion

Ask a funeral director-hair and mourning jewelry

When my own grandmother passed away and we were sorting her belongings, I stumbled upon a beautifully woven necklace. Obviously, it is called "micro lace" (yes, that's the same thing!). This is incredible and very complex, a complex and incredibly gorgeous combination of swirls, twists and knots. Obviously, some craftsmen with better eyesight than me spent a lot of time creating. It turned out that it was made of human hair.

From the 1600s to the Victorian era, commemorative hair accessories were common. This is a popular practice, called mourning jewelry, in which the hair of a deceased relative is incorporated into rings, brooches and necklaces. After her death from typhoid fever in 1861, Queen Victoria often wore a pendant with a lock of hair from her beloved husband, Prince Albert. In turn, she gave jewelry made from her hair as a gift. Many of these works were given to her children (she has nine) and grandchildren (all 42).

It has been suggested that because hair is not as easy to decompose as other parts of the human body, it is the perfect medium for representing immortality and the legacy of the dead. [1]

I bought human tooth jewelry from Etsy

Similar to jewellery made from human hair, although it sounds a bit like a creepy craft project by Ed Gein, jewellery of human teeth has been found in Neolithic settlements, with a history dating back to approximately 9,000 Years ago. Turkish archaeologists have discovered human teeth in Çatalhöyük that appear to be used as jewelry. The human molars found in Çatalhöyük have been carefully modified to drill holes to thread the teeth into leather ropes or animal tendons.

Queen Victoria is also worth mentioning here, because she is the proud owner of the enamel brooch, and the tuft on the thistle head is actually one of the deciduous teeth of one of her many children.

Recently, Melbourne jeweler designer Polly Van Der Glas released a jewelry collection featuring human teeth inlaid in 925 sterling silver. Obviously, if you provide teeth, she can even offer a 10% discount for the entrusted jewelry.

A quick search of Esty will find more than 790 lists of human tooth jewelry, so it is still the first choice for many people! [2]

DIY Breast Milk Ring | Marky Baby Milk Jewelry

Yes, you read that right-breast milk. If you think Queen Vic’s hairpins and tooth brooches are weird, now you can incorporate your breast milk into an extra special souvenir. Breast milk is first dehydrated and then mixed with epoxy resin or covered with a transparent glaze.

"What a wonderful way to preserve the'liquid gold' that we can only produce within a certain period of time," reads a product description. "This can be passed on from generation to generation, what a wonderful gift to your children, the root of their survival."

Another seller said, "Our breast milk accessories are the most beautiful way to commemorate your breastfeeding journey. Your breast milk is encapsulated in a resin stone, and you can also choose to add hair and/or umbilical cord!"

Oh, if you are the crafty type, you can also use a DIY kit. [3]

I want to know if my husband wants breast milk and umbilical cord cufflinks for Christmas?

Strange job: This woman makes jewelry from cremation ashes

I have to admit that I think some of the jewelry choices of the ashes of your dear deceased relatives look cool.

Ashes can be incorporated into jewelry in many ways. The most basic is to carry a small portion of ashes in a miniature urn, hopefully a urn with a fitting lid. Another option is to add ashes to the glass to form beads or focus pendants. Glass is a versatile medium that can produce a variety of colors, finishes, shapes and textures, so adding ashes to the mixture is relatively simple (unlike dehydrating breast milk!).

Although it takes less than a teaspoon of ashes to be contained in a custom glass, it is more like 100-200 grams (¼-½ pound) of ashes or two to eight grams (up to ¼ ounce) of hair to make a souvenir Diamond. The carbon in the ashes or hair is removed and purified, and then processed for a long time using high pressure and high temperature higher than 2,000°C (3,632°F) to form diamond "seeds". The carbon seeds began to crystallize around the carbon seeds, and over time, rough diamonds were formed. Then check the quality and clarity, and then facet and polish, just like a naturally occurring gem.

Cremated diamonds manufactured in the laboratory are aesthetically close to the quality of mined diamonds, with basically the same brightness, luster and durability. However, although natural diamonds must be mined, the manufacture of cremated diamonds does not pose a real threat to our environment, nor does it involve mining in poorer countries.

Recently, people have paid more and more attention to the ethics of buying blood diamonds or conflict diamonds. These gems come from areas controlled by forces or factions, not from legal and internationally recognized governments. Diamond sales are often used to fund military operations against legitimate governments or violate the basic human rights of indigenous peoples. [4]

The popularity of diamonds is largely due to successful and continuous marketing activities, so this may become a viable alternative.

Politician issued a statement with IUD earrings

For those who do not like TWA (short for three words), the IUD is a kind of IUD. It is a long-acting reversible method of contraception, placed in the uterus to prevent pregnancy.

FYI (another TWA), it is one of the more reliable methods of contraception, with an effective rate of over 99%.

Jacqui, a jewelry designer in Melbourne, Australia, used custom pieces such as hair, teeth and even bones to commemorate the dead and the departed. However, by far, Jacqui's most unusual request was to make a necklace out of used IUD plastic—yes, an IUD inserted into a woman's body for contraception.

"Because the plastic is difficult to disinfect, I rejected the job, and I can't guarantee the life of this work," Jacqui later explained. So technically, this is a creepy item, and in this case no jewelry was made, but I just assumed that the client found a more helpful craftsman elsewhere. However, you can find a copy on Etsy. [5]

Artist turns intrusive mistakes into jewelry | secretly powerful

Yes, those super-fashionable Victorians are here again, creating an era when going out is not unimaginable, decorated by one or two living creepy reptiles.

Some believe that this creepy enthusiasm is a response to growing concerns about the environment. In the relatively new world of the Industrial Revolution, middle-class women felt that they might be losing contact with nature. Charles Darwin’s controversial work on evolution, The Origin of Species, was also published in 1859, sparking a seemingly insatiable interest in natural history.

Therefore, their solution is to wear some of God's own creations to show respect.

When a young British woman was traveling in Brazil, she exclaimed: "The insect life on this mountain is very rich, with the most colorful butterflies and beetles, including the green species I have only seen before. In brooches and earrings , Rings or tie pins.” Ironically, the demand for insect jewelry quickly pushed the most beautiful species to the brink of complete extinction.

This practice has evolved from hummingbird jewelry that contains only insect parts and occasional specimen stripping to a more extreme practice of placing live insects in delicate cages and then pinning them to women’s clothes. Some of the larger beetles will actually be inlaid with real gems, which are then tied to the wearer's clothing with thin chains.

Even today, in the Yucatan region of Mexico, large colorful beetles are covered with rhinestones and other bling, and are secured with gold chains and pins, and are basically used as belts. It is said that this custom originated in the ancient Mayan legend. The shaman showed mercy to the broken princess, and her forbidden lover was sentenced to death. He magically turned this unfortunate young man into a gleaming beetle so that she could stay close to him forever. [6]

Why am I only studying uranium glass now? But for my defense, I live in a non-nuclear country.

Uranium used to be incorporated into glass before melting and forming to provide coloration and fluorescence in decorative glass. The ratio varies from mixture to mixture, but some fragments have been found to contain as much as 25% uranium oxide. It is sometimes called petroleum jelly glass or canary glass because it is yellow, and under the black light of ultraviolet light, it emits a weird green light.

Before fully understanding the effects of radioactive materials on health, uranium-containing glass has been used to make tableware, serving dishes, and jewelry. Some antique cloisonne jewellery also gets some lighter colors from the small amount of uranium used in the glaze.

The radioactivity of most uranium glass jewelry is negligible. It will not even be registered on the most sensitive Geiger counters and is considered harmless. However, you can understand why many people have reservations about keeping such objects on their bodies for long periods of time. [7]

The artist uses animal bones to make jewelry

When April Hale, a jewelry designer and longtime vegetarian in Montana, accidentally hit a squirrel with her car, she wanted to take responsibility for the death instead of driving away. Hale called a friend to help her-unexpectedly-cook and eat the little animal. "It all boils down to environmental responsibility, and we need to start doing more things," Hale said. "I want to thank Squirrel. I want to treat it religiously. I want to say that this is not just an accidental death-it will nourish me. I am responsible for my actions and make sure to reuse what I have used."

Before the unfortunate squirrel incident, Hale had been adding animal skins found in her works, but she admitted that at first she did not even dare to touch the killing on the road. After overcoming the fear, she now collects the dead animals, she skins them, washes them, and makes jewelry.

"When you choose to decorate yourself with something, you admit that it is a beautiful representative of yourself or what you represent," Hale said. "How wonderful is this when you know it comes from this earth? It connects us to the ground on which we stand and the surrounding animals. Because we breathe the same air, and we are all made of the same things. "

Similarly, Kat Arnold, a custom jewelry designer in London, said that although she is a staunch vegetarian, she discovered her "real mission" when she stumbled upon the skull of a puppy on a beach in Cuba. "I was suddenly interested in the skull and I didn't want to put it back. I put it in my suitcase and brought it back to the UK because it was covered in dust and dead bugs. I taught myself how to clean it through a Google search." Clean up After finishing the skull, she found herself "bonded to the bone".

As a vegetarian, she does not want to use animal bones that have been slaughtered for human consumption. Instead, she buys animal bones—usually rabbits, crows, magpies, Spanish wild cats and dogs, snakes, badgers, squirrels, and owls—and other organic materials from highways, woods, collectors, and even local towns. Kate explained that her work turns "natural trash" into "eternal treasure."

Like April, Kat also realizes that many people don't want to wear her unique works. She admitted: "I think society has not yet accepted that it is okay to wear bones as jewelry," but added, "Some people will be shocked or disgusted when they see my jewelry, but then they will have no problem wearing them." leather shoes. "[8]

Make your eyes sparkle: golden contact lenses

Contact lens jewelry is actually the same thing! People who are tired of unpretentious eyeballs can now choose to dress them up.

Dutch artist and designer Eric Klarenbeek combined contact lenses with a string of tiny crystals and diamonds that dangle like tears on the iris. The perfect accessory for the Insta crowd!

Klarenbeek explained, “Contact lenses have become jewels, just as glasses have become a representative of our identity. Our fear of imperfection makes us change our environment and existence, and strive for virtual perfection. It is not the person we should be. It's who we can be. Aesthetics is increasingly based on the functions of Photoshop, and has slightly become the norm for plastic surgery, rather than nature. Eye jewellery demonstrates our scientific capabilities and at the same time demonstrates the beauty of imperfection."

When asked what would happen if someone yanked the line, Klarenbeek replied: "It will fall, or in the worst case, the wire may break." Hope it won't attract your attention!

At the same time, in India, Dr. Chawan's Shekhar Eye Research Center provides another form of eye flash. They have been marketing contact lenses with a circle of diamonds, making the eyeball truly the latest frontier in accessories. Obviously, his inspiration came from the jewelry embedded in his wife's teeth, just in case! [9]

Gallstones are hardened deposits of digestive juices in the gallbladder, which is a small organ located under the liver. The size and number of gallstones may vary, and may or may not cause any type of symptoms. People who do show symptoms usually need cholecystectomy. The experience of removing gallstones is quite unpleasant, not to mention that it is usually expensive, but most people don't care what happens to the removed gallstones. However, some people have found a creative way to use gallstones by making gallstone jewelry. As the saying goes, don't stop it, don't you want it!

According to India Business Online, a hospital team performed an operation on a patient and removed a shocking 300 stones from the gallbladder of a woman. A staff member then designed a matching necklace, earrings, nose ring and bracelet made of gallstones.

In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, a bead shop owner posted his experience, “A lady walked to the counter with a zipper bag filled with brown beads about half an inch in diameter. They were irregular in shape and could not be threaded. After she was discharged from the hospital, the doctor handed her the gallstone she had just removed. The shopkeeper was asked to drill holes in each stone, then make a necklace and string the "beads" together. He commented that although they feel like hard clay, they are still delicate. He added, "The smell during drilling is not ideal."

Nicole Angemi posted a photo of a rosary made by a man using his gallstones on Instagram. She described how "They took them out of his body five years ago, he kept them and made rosary beads to remind people that they should turn bad things into good things! He used 53 gallstones and had to make 6 fake ones. Gallstones can only be completed." She added, "I like this!!!"[10]

I guess it needs all types.

Facts verified by Darci Heikkinen