Addressing the challenges of the age-old craft of jewelry making

Few man-made creations convey a sense of perpetuity as much as jewelry. Earlier this month, the Athens Silver & Goldsmiths Association organized a tour of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, which holds one of the most important collections of ancient Greek jewelry in the world. The tour was followed by a discussion about the 6,000-year-old history of Greek jewelry, and the issues the sector faces today.

In the museum, the ancient Greek adornments from the Minoan, Mycenaean, Classical and Hellenistic periods still looked brand-new. Forged or cast, they were then decorated using an abundance of techniques, some of which are still used today.

"It is said that humans wore jewelry made of shells, stones, bones, animal claws or wood before they even started building their homes or cultivating the land. The earliest piece of jewelry is estimated to date back to...