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| Body Jewellery Direct Piercing, Belly Bars and More |
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Welcome to our UK based online-ordering body piercing jewellery
store. Body Jewellery Direct delivers high quality body jewellery, belly button
rings, belly bars, navel jewellery, tongue rings, nipple jewelry, eyebrow rings,
and much more for sale at great prices direct to your door.
Currency and Payment
Although the site shows Pounds Sterling (GBP) by default
you can shop and pay in US Dollars and Euros if you live outside of the UK.
To do so simply select your currency using the box on the left.
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A Brief Body Piercing History
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- Body piercing has been practiced for as long as five thousand years.
It has, in the beginning, as it is now, been used as a personal expression,
a religious ritual, an official, or royal distinction, or more often recently,
a trend in fashion as with belly bars and much modern body jewellery. It began with the first tribes and clans, the oldest
human races. The jungle tribes in South America, Africa and Indonesia. The
religious castes of India and the Pharos of Egypt. The philosophers of Greece
and the soldiers of Rome. Then all the way up to the middle classes, and
the aristocracy of the 18th and 19th century. It was all but forgotten in
Europe during the early 1900's, what with two world wars, and the concerns
of a growing world, until the 1970's where it found itself being nurtured
by London’s pioneering fashion gurus and artists in the Underground! By
the 1990's, piercing had finally reached the attention of the entire globe
closing the link from the ancients, to the modern - with belly bars almost becoming the norm for the 18-25 age group.
- Ear Lobe:
- The ear lobe is by far, the most common place in history and now, to
find a piercing. An ear lobe piercing could have once distinguished a wealthy
person from a poor one. Now it is simply the most popular way to display
piercing jewellery. Sailors once pierced their ears believing it gave them
better eyesight, while Romans associated ear piercing with wealth and luxury.
South American and African tribes pierced ears and stretched the hole, similar
to the flesh tunnels you see now. The bigger the hole, the higher your social
standing.
- Nose:
- Nostril piercing was first thought to originate in the Middle-East almost
4000 years ago. From there it spread into India in the 16th century, where
it was quickly adopted into the noble castes. The kind of jewellery worn
could distinguish the wearer by caste and social standing, much like a title,
or even an identity card! The piercing was introduced into the west by the
‘Hippy’ culture, that traveled to India in the 60’s and 70’s. It was shortly
adopted by the ‘Punks’ and other youth culture of the 80’s and 90’s, until
it’s popular use in the new millennium.
- Tongue:
- In the ancient temples of the Aztecs and Mayans, Shamens and High Priests
pierced their tongues as part of a ritual to communicate with their gods.
Thousands of years later, and it is still a popular piercing, although for
different reasons. Both men and women can find it sexually arousing, as
well as empowering.
- Lip and Labret:
- The mouth and lips are a sensuous part of the body and power is an aphrodisiac,
so it is only natural that only the higher castes of Aztecs and Mayans should
adorn their lips with labrets of pure gold. In Africa, the women of the
Makololo tribe of Malawi wear plates called ‘Pelele’ in their upper lip,
to arouse the men in their tribes. Tribes in central and South America pierced
their lower lips and stretched the hole to fit in wooden plates. Now, lip
piercing is more common among the general populace, more often on the lower
lip, however recently upper lip piercing has become popular, like the famous
‘Madonna’ or ‘Cindy Crawford’ beauty mark.
- Nipple:
- Nipple piercings were once considered a sign of strength, virility and
endurance. The natives of central America once pierced their nipples as
a mark of the transition to manhood. The honour guard of the Roman Ceasars
would also pierce their nipples to show their strength and duty to protect
their emperor. It was said that it was their nipple jewellery that held
their cloaks in place! In the 1890’s it was all the rage for Victorian women
to pierce their nipple with jewellery sold by the famous jewellers of Paris.
Some even had both nipples pierced and hung silver chains from one to the
other. Now in the new millennium, it is becoming far more common. Navel
Piercing: The first records of navel piercing stretch as far back as the
ancient civilisations of Egypt. Then it was only the Pharos and their Royal
families who were permitted to pierce their navels. Peasants who broke this
rule were executed! However, if a peasant girl was born with ‘The perfect
belly button’ she was sometimes permitted to have it pierced, and therefore
to elevate her social standing. The navel is now one of the most popular
piercings, looking especially good with much of the silver jewellery available for navel piercings.
- Prince Albert:
- Names after Queen Victoria’s husband and consort, Prince Albert was reported
to have his genitals pierced in the late 1820’s as part of a craze among
men, who wore lightweight trousers. With a genital piercing, a gentleman
could hook his penis to either side, so as not to create an unsightly bulge!
Throughout history people have decorated and altered the appearance of their
bodies in many different ways. Body piercing is one of the oldest and most
interesting forms of adornment and/or body modification, yet the reasons for
piercing the body are as diverse as the cultures they come from. In this brief
overview we would like to share some of these practices from around the world.
They range from ancient biblical days and beyond to present day tribal customs.
Sioux Indians - A young man on his journey to manhood would have his chest
pierced with eagle claws and then hang suspended in the air - enduring the
pain in this rite of passage.
In some parts of Australia and New Guinea one tribal custom is a pierced
septum, giving the warrior a fierce & savage appearance.
Approximately 1440 BC. The book of Exodus 21: 5-6 describes how Hebrew servants
that pledged allegiance to their master would have their ear held to a door
post and pierced with an awl. This would indicate identification with a particular
family (NIV).
Some women in India pierce their noses to induce a state of submissiveness
(They claim this happens by proper placement in a marma or acupuncture point).
In Borneo a man could choose to have pierced genitals for courtship and
sexual enhancement reasons.
The Centurions from ancient Rome expressed their strength and virility by
displaying pierced - jewelled nipples
Ethiopian men & women have various facial piercings and some are identified
by oversized ear discs. Lip plates in the women help to gain social status
and command a higher bridal price.
In our culture we have brought to the mainstream some of these ancient and
tribal practices as well as creating our own Neo-Tribal customs. The big difference
here is the expression of self choice. In our more permissive modern day society
an individual can pierce their body for any number of the reasons listed above,
but is not limited or obligated to a specific set of rules or conduct. Another
unique principal behind modern day piercing is that unless the piercing has
been overstretched, it can be viewed as temporary. The person can take out
the jewelry if he/she desires and re-transform their "look" again and again!
We believe that much of the recent attraction and popularity of this "piercing
renaissance" stems from the fact that up until the present - people were just
unaware it was possible to pierce the body in so many different ways!
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