Why do we wear jewelry? From amulet to adornment
Why people have worn jewelry for over a hundred thousand years: adornment, protection, status, belonging and memory. A look at the reasons.
The oldest known jewelry is shell beads more than 100,000 years old. Since then, in almost every culture, people have put small, valuable objects on their bodies. Why?
The usual reasons #
- To adorn. The most obvious: a jewel beautifies and draws attention to something, a face, a hand, a neckline.
- To protect. Many jewels began as amulets that keep away the evil eye or bring luck. See amulets and talismans.
- To show status. Rare metals, hard-to-get stones or very elaborate work have shown wealth or power. See crowns.
- To belong. A wedding band, a signet or a piece from a community says which group, family or tradition we belong to. See symbols in traditional jewelry.
- To store value. Gold and stones have been used as savings you carry on you. See gold as an investment.
- To remember. A jewel can hold a name, a date or a person. See personalized and engraved jewelry.
Today #
We almost always mix several reasons at once. A wedding band adorns, symbolizes a commitment, belongs to a story and, sometimes, is also savings.
A question to start with #
Look at the jewel you are wearing today. Why did you choose it? If the answer is "I like it", keep asking: what do you like about it? The answer usually relates to one of the reasons above.
See also: history of jewelry, why we give jewelry and the psychology of jewelry.
This entry was drafted with the help of AI and is pending review by the author.
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