Jewelry… What’s the Purpose?

It was a simple question from a gentleman who was reluctantly shopping around for diamond studs for his significant other. He was around my age, in his late 60s; I could tell I was his first stop, and it had been a while since he dipped a toe into the fine jewelry pool. “So what’s the cost for a pair of diamond earrings?” he finally asked me after cruising the showcases for a few minutes. Not the first time I have heard that question - any normal jewelry salesperson who works for a commission would start by showing the most expensive pair and work their way down to the least expensive.

I’m not a normal jeweler or a salesperson and never worked on commission in my life, for that matter. My first question was who he was gifting them to? He said it was for a special lady friend he has been dating for quite a while and had recently lost her pair of diamond studs while they were on a short vacation together, so he thought it would be a nice gesture to surprise her with another pair. Depending on the price, of course! I took it all in and asked him a simple question; on your first date, did you pick her up and take her to a fast food joint, a questionable bar or a nice fancy restaurant? He laughed. “I actually took her to a really nice restaurant!” That’s how it goes with diamond earrings, I said. Just remember you have to buy two and size isn’t everything, but white and bright is, and that quality is beautiful regardless of their size. Of course, he pointed to a pair that had a twenty-thousand-dollar price tag; those were a bit over budget. He settled for a nice pair that totaled a little over a carat total weight. He was very pleased and I’m sure she will be also. What a gentleman he was, doing business with him was like a breath of fresh air. Generally, it’s usually a bittersweet experience, getting questions such as “Why do women insist on wanting expensive things like these?” I guess you could ask the person who last year decided on a new toilet with a heated seat over a new gold bracelet! That one takes the cake… I lost a good sale to a heated throne in Southwest Florida? Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

That reminded me of a young man who lamented over the price of an engagement ring the apple of his eye had requested. “Why couldn’t she just be enamored with a piece of granite in a silver ring?” I told him I’d be happy to put one together for him, only there will be no refund or returns when she shows you the door after you present it to her.

I’m pretty sure I have brought up the real purpose of jewelry, seeing that I have been writing about it, and the people who enjoy presenting it, those who absolutely love it, cherish it, collect it and even hoard it, not to mention a multitude of other subjects and personnel experiences that may or may not have anything to do with my fifty plus years in the jewelry business. 

(Fifty + years, I think that qualifies me as an antique?) 

Even after all these years, when I see folks get really excited about something I either created from nothing, re-designed or completed a totally restored family heirloom to its original condition, the joy and pride never gets old.

To me, jewelry certainly has a purpose. Besides keeping me pretty busy and making a living at the same time, I generally make most people happy I cross paths with… except a few I care not to mention. 

Things like engagement rings and wedding bands still have a purpose, unlike many things that have gone by the wayside or been lost in history. Does anyone remember presenting or receiving a   pre-engagement ring or even more forgotten, a “Hope Chest”? I have to admit many articles of jewelry that were for many years a tradition have followed that sad path to near obscurity, at least here on the island, such as mother’s rings, celebrating sweet sixteen jewelry, and that special ring or bracelet to celebrate a son or grandson becoming a young man. Not a real popular gesture any longer. 

All traditions aside, nice jewelry is still popular to the masses for whatever reasons - it could be to proclaim love, family traditions or for some who just buy the blingiest jewelry they can find so that one can flaunt it.