For many, wearing jewelry has become common in our daily routine, and some of us never take our jewels off. Yet in all the chaos of getting dressed in the morning and the exhaustion when getting undressed at night, we rarely stop to question what our jewelry says about us.
Jewelry often carries personal or sentimental value which can signify commitment, love, or appreciation. We often recognize the purpose of our jewelry when it has personal significance, yet our choices of jewelry can be overlooked when we wear it for the sake of wearing it.
Our apparel in general often speaks about our personality within a certain environment. While wearing a suit is customary in a professional environment, the style of the suit and its accessorizing is how we add our own flair.
Wearing big hoop earrings and bold sparkly necklaces can allude to an extravagant lifestyle or desire to be a trendsetter. Matching necklace and earring sets may indicate someone is more organized and structured. Or wearing hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind jewelry may show you are down to earth and appreciate the jewelry craft.
We convey our personalities through jewelry because it can represent our status in society. Owning and wearing jewelry made of precious gems and metals may suggest someone of higher social status and wealth. However, using jewelry as a status symbol is not a new concept.
In its ancient culture, jewelry was worn by pharaohs, kings, emperors, and rulers to signify their royalty and beliefs. Jewelry was originally crafted with more modest materials like shells, animal skins, feathers, bones, and natural semi-precious materials. Early societies believed that wearing these materials as jewelry would unleash magical properties of nature that could bring health, luck, fertility, wealth, or love.
Even today, we wear pendants with crystals not only for their beauty but for their spiritual qualities that serve as a reminder to nurture ourselves and parts of our lives. The spiritual significance of jewelry is not forgotten yet can be lost in its beauty.
Beauty is crucial in jewelry design and adornment because it ultimately voices what an individual finds beautiful. To further connect with our jewelry and fashion, we can ask ourselves what our pieces mean to us.
Understanding how jewelry is made and how our pieces resonate with us can open doors for further appreciation and admiration of our jewelry and ourselves. Perhaps your favourite necklace is your favourite simply because of its beauty, yet it tells you what you find beautiful in this world.
