In today’s world, everyone is wearing an elegant and unique item that brings out their personality. From clothes and customized shoes to delightful jewelry pieces, we all seek to look fashionable and look great.
In this fashion conscious world, both men and women pay a lot of attention to classy and luxurious accessories. Among all the accessories that you may ever own, the main focus is to ensure that your fashion jewelry complements your character, vibrancy, and outfit collection.
That said, most people purchase jewelry as mementos, primary collectibles, or investments. You will never miss elegant jewelry pieces at a red carpet event, a wedding ceremony, or even the simplest events- a birthday celebration or a dinner.
Currently, the jewelry industry is quite lucrative and has significantly dominated the fashion industry. It is indeed a great way to invest and a trendy way to upgrade your wardrobe.
A brief history of jewelry in the fashion
Jewelry is directly associated with valuable materials and gemstones and is described as treasure. In today’s world, it is considered to be objects of intrinsic value and beauty. In the pre-historic times, however, jewelry items weren’t made from precious metals.
Back in the day, people used local materials available to them to make jewelry items. Based on that fact, jewelry featured materials such as animal teeth and claws, bones, pebbles, and shells.
Unique pieces were engraved with zoomorphic images and intricate geometric patterns that were used to identify them. During this time, jewelry was a decorative item. Towards later stages of human development, people used precious stones and scarce materials to make unique jewelry pieces.
Before the industrial revolution, kings and aristocrats wore jewelry items. When the industrial revolution began, the middle class dominated Britain.
They imitated the jewelry of the aristocracy and the royal families. The only difference was that; instead of rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires, they would wear gemstones such as turquoise, tourmaline, amethyst, and chrysoprase.
With time, pearls began to dominate the industry. It was during this time that evening and day jewelry was differentiated, and jewelry etiquette was established.
Also, sentimental jewelry became popular, and people began gifting each other jewelry items with love or messages of friendship whereas some would integrate souvenirs of their beloved or deceased in jewels.
By the second half of the 19th century, famous jewelry stores opened branches in different cities and their collections became global.
In the 20th century, the path to modernism in the jewelry industry began. Luxury items were introduced in the industry, and a new aesthetic movement was created.
Jewelry items made at this time were emotive and represented different phases of life. Diamonds became popular and luxurious, some jewelers used silver to make fine jewelry pieces, and others embraced platinum and gold pieces.
Is jewelry important to what you wear?
Generally, jewelry is viewed as a fashion accessory for completing any outfit you choose to wear. For most of us, without the right accessories, we tend to feel naked. So, the answer to this question entirely depends on how you choose to define the word ‘important’.
Elegant ornaments can add a fabulous finishing touch to your outfit. Sometimes it may be a little brightness or sparkle. Perhaps some color or enhance the overall look depending on the style.
The extent to which an embellishment enhances your look depends on the type of jewelry you wear.
In the past, jewelry seemed a lot more important to what one wears compared to current times.
Previously, women would wear tiaras on their wedding day, and even after that only married women would wear tiaras.
However, times have changed, and any female can wear a tiara, wherever or whenever they want to. Based on this explanation, we can establish that symbolism isn’t so attached to jewelry items anymore, and so it may be important for specific reasons and to a different level.
The context differs from one person to another and from a culture to another.
Why is Jewelry important in fashion and life?
Here are a few reasons why jewelry is important in fashion and life;
1.Jewelry has a sentimental value
Sentimental jewelry carries a significant memory or lifetime story attached to it. Sometimes it is passed down from a special family member or friend.
Other times, we may purchase specific jewelry items to commemorate special moments in our lives.
That means that some jewelry pieces have intrinsic worth and will always be something to cherish forever.
2.Jewelry could have you feeling good and raises your confidence
Jewelry enhances any woman’s features and expresses anyone’s personality when they wear the right piece to the right occasion.
Jewelry makes women feel beautiful, special, stylish, and confident.
It plays a huge role in making any individual feel good about themselves, which a great value to fashion and life at the same time.
3.It makes the perfect accessory for special occasions
Birthday or wedding, party or dinner, prayers or red carpet event; name it. Jewelry popularizes as time and fashion evolve.
New styles and designs always enter the market during different seasons and after specific global events. Attending any special occasion without a delightful jewelry piece is never an option for most people.
More often than not, jewelry is the highlight of most events, and some may feel underdressed without the right embellishments.
4.Luxurious jewelry items can be a great security fund
Did you know that some jewelry items hold their value indefinitely, and you can sell them to rescue yourself from a financial burden?
When you purchase expensive and authentic items from a reputable jeweler, you are not only buying what you love but are preparing yourself to break through any financial crisis.
Diamond and gold jewelry hold their value for as long as they have to. Diamond jewelry can be liquidated and redesigned to form a better and more expensive piece, while gold can be turned into expensive gold bars.
Jewelry items with higher gold content and diamond purity always have a high value, no matter the fluctuations in the market.
The significance of jewelry in society
Jewelry is not only used for beautification purposes but also represents different societal aspects. In society today;
- Jewelry symbolizes wealth, power, and status
Fine jewelry is the most common way for businesses and savvy investors to store their wealth. If anything authentic gemstones tend to appreciate as time goes by. Aside from that, fine jewelry pieces are associated with wealthy families, aristocracies, and dynasties.
- Jewelry represents love, affection, and commitment
When you would want to make your loved ones feel special, all you need to do is gift them with a unique jewelry piece. Because of its gift holding value, they carry along with a great sense of pride and nostalgia associated with the memories they hold.
- Jewelry represents the celebration of milestones in life
If you have notices engagement rings are given during proposals as a commemoration of love and commitment, watches are sometimes given to recent graduates and fine jewelry is given to athletes. Also, religious ceremonies such as baptism involve gifting the recipient a jewelry item to remind them of any important moments in their life.
Can you live without jewelry?
As an individual, you set the standards to which a materialistic item means to you. Overall, jewelry is an indispensable part of our lives as tradition, customs, and mostly an asset.
If anyone asks you whether you can live without jewelry, the answer is yes. It is possible. But, for some jewelry is a significant part of their lives and they cannot do without it.
Some people show their dignity in society through jewelry pieces, while others want to maintain the custom and sentiments within their family. Based on this train of thought, the importance of anything is governed by our mindset.
I mean, haven’t you met people who can’t imagine a lady or a girl without a jewelry item on their neck or wrist?
When a person doesn’t have any embellishments on their body, it doesn’t mean that they are poor or come from a backward family. Sometimes, it’s a matter of choice. Jewelry has its beautification purposes. If a girl wears an ornamental piece she likes, it’s to unravel the beauty within.
So, as much as people have several reasons why jewelry is essential in their lives, some believe it is customary to wear jewelry. Some have to maintain ancestral jewelry as generations go by, while others wear jewelry for the sake of it.
For functions such as marriage or engagement ceremonies, it is almost mandatory to have some kind of jewelry for the couple. We also have the choice to wear jewelry as per occasions or show up with none at all. No rule mandates us to wear jewelry. As I said earlier, importance and need are lent as per our mindset.
Conclusion
We cannot eliminate the irresistible relationship between fashion and jewelry.
For as long as both industries evolve, high-end fashion houses will always explore jewelry opportunities to sparkle their exclusive custom collections.
Besides, fashion designers and jewelers will always work together to build modern looks. Jewels are not only adornments but a great fashion statement!
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Stephanie is a jewelry lover when she was a teenager. Her major was fashion design when she was in college. She is a jewelry designer at SOQ Jewelry and other design companies. Now she is also a writer for our website. She writes a lot of designs&brands posts with very actionable tips.