Free Republic

Few pieces of jewellery suggest blue blood like a tiara does. Worn on the grandest of occasions, they are shimmering visions of wealth, perfectly perched on some of the world's most regal crowns. On Tuesday night at Buckingham Palace, all eyes were on the Duchess of Cambridge as she attended her first state banquet to welcome the Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan. Kate, 33, matched a beautiful red dress by Jenny Packham - a nod to China's flag - with the Lotus Flower tiara once owned by the Queen Mother. The delicate diamond tiara has fan...

The earliest known pieces of jewellery made by modern humans have been identified by scientists. The three shell beads are between 90,000 and 100,000 years old, according to an international research team. Two of the ancient beads come from Skhul Cave on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Israel. The other comes from the site of Oued Djebbana in Algeria. The finds, which pre-date other ancient examples by 25,000 years, are described in the US journal Science. The pea-sized items all have similar holes which would have allowed them to be strung together into a necklace or bracelet, the...

Sikh bracelets, but no Christian rings at school bans pupils from wearing 'purity rings' A group of teenage Christians have been banned by a secondary school from wearing "purity rings" as a symbol of their religious belief in chastity until marriage. At least one of the dozen pupils, who all attend the same girls' comprehensive in Horsham, West Sussex, is considering legal action against the Millais School for "a breach of human rights". Although the school allows Muslim and Sikh pupils to wear headscarves or kara bracelets as a means of religious expression, the purity ring - a small band...