Paper clips are a fairly simple invention which was invented thousands of years back by early ancestors who had first worked with iron or tin. It is infamously hard to work with steel especially when little items such as wire for paper clip are to be produced.

ohan Vaaler, a Norwegian inventor whom holds a degree in electronics, science and mathematics, invented the paper clip in 1899. He received a patent for this from Germany and years after, he received an American patent in 1901, a patent for abstract which can be bent into a rectangular, triangular, or otherwise shaped hoop.

During the World War II during the Nazi Occupation, Paper clip has become a symbol of Norwegian nationalism. They are prohibited from wearing buttons imprinted with the Norwegian kings initials; they fastened paper clips to their lapels in a show of solidarity and opposition to the occupation. During the World War II, wearing a paper clip was often reason enough for arrest. With that, even it was often a good reason for one to get arrested or jailed.
Since then, paper clip innovation started where people have been re-inventing repetitively to make it more user-friendly. The designs that have been the most successful are the "Gem" with the double oval shape. The original Gem type proved to be the most practical, and the most popular among all the other types. Its qualities of easy use, gripping without tearing and storing without tangling have been difficult to improve further on. Therefore it is obvious that this innovation will continue in momentum for years to come.

The first turned paper clip was made after many years in the end of 1867, it was the Fay paper clip also called the Cinch paper clip. It was a small length of wire forming the spine of clip between each bend. The patent was registered in 1867 to Samuel Fay but this paper clip was not extensively available until the beginning of the next century.