Four color elements were
heavily used in Egyptian jewelry: orange/red (carnelian), dark blue (
lapis), turquoise, and gold. Each of these had a symbolisn to the
ancient Egyptians. Most of the materials were chosen for underlying
symbolism or amuletic significance.

Turquoise was not diferentiated
from green. It was the color of new vegetation, growing crops.
fertility and resurrection. Turquoise was a big favorite with
Egyptian into the predynatic times. In the Old and New Kingdom, men
mined turquoise in mines in the desert near the Red Sea and in the
Sinai under inhuman conditions for Pharaoh. Archaelogists study these
mining camps for evidence on how ancient Egyptians actually lived.
these camps are virtually untouched because of their remote locations
and because there was no treasure to lure looters like in the tombs.
It's amazing how long things last in the absence of water. Turquoise
was a big favorite for charms worn as hair ornaments. There is is
neat story about Snefru first Pharaoh of Dynasty 4 (2613-2589 BC).
One day when he was bored he got this idea to have the ladies of the
harem row him around the lake ( probably one of those lakes in the
pyramid complexes) clad only in fishnet (how kinky!). One of his
favorites' turquoise hair ornaments fell into the lake while she was
rowing and she refused to continue. Snefru had one of the magicians
part the waters of the lake and retrieve the ornament, then the
rowing continued.

Dark blue (lapis) was the color
of the all-embracing night sky. The Egyptians unlike later Western
cultures which considered the sky as a male deity (Apollo for
example) they invisioned the sky as a female deity, Nut, who created
the gods and humans from her union with the earth a male deity called
Geb. Lapis was really valued because all of it was imported. Lapis
lazuli occurs naturally in only two places on the earth: Afganistan
and Mexico.

Like orange with the
seedbeadfrenzy crowd, orange/red had a schizophrenic significance.
Red was then color of blood with connotations of energy, power, and
life itself. Red is the color of the desert and the color of the
desert god Set. Set was the brother of Isis and Osiris and the
murderer of Osiris. As his color, red signified disorder, storms. and
aridity. Set is often portrayed as a red-head.

Gold was the material of the
flesh of the gods, the color of divinity. Incorruptable, it was used
in the funeral masks of the Pharaohs their gods on earth gone to join
the Horus in the orb in death. The only surviving example of this
spectacular use is the funeral mask fo Tutankamen since all the other
Pharaohs' tombs had long since been looted.