Romantic Jewelry

"Isn't jewelry romantic by its very nature, I asked myself?"

After overhearing a woman talk about how beautiful some of the jewelry, she was wearing made her feel, I think that to some degree it's true. Jewelry can make you feel even better about yourself, but we wear jewelry for any number of reasons that are not strictly romantic. To look sophisticated, and professional, to impress our friends and neighbors.

So, what about the romance of jewelry?

Something more like, the dictionary definition of jewelry:

"A quality or feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life"

Romantic jewelry is that jewelry that makes you feel special, like a princess or a prince. That special jewelry that takes you out of your normal humdrum life every time you put it on and makes you feel extra special.

Perhaps that is why gold is such a popular metal for jewelry. I love silver and platinum and there are other metals (titanium comes to mind) that make great jewelry, but there is nothing like the romance of gold. To wear gold is to wear the jewelry of kings and queens. In ancient Egypt, only the pharaohs and those especially favored by the pharaohs were permitted to wear gold. This feeling of being special and above the fray has continued to the modern-day. If you want to feel like royalty (or if you want to give a gift that says you think of your beloved as a king or queen), gold is the answer.

Another form of jewel that inspires feelings of romance are pearls, emeralds and rubies... and, of course, for many people, diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Somehow though diamonds don't seem to have the same warmth and romance as the other stones. Diamonds were not historically valued as highly as they are today. Much of the romance that has been generated around diamonds is due to De Beers in the early part of the 20th century instituting a brilliant and very effective advertising campaign... so I will leave diamonds for another post.

On the other hand, pearls feel wonderful against your skin. They are sensuous and mysterious. To look deeply into a fine pearl is like looking into eternity. There is also something intriguing about a pearl, knowing that it came not from the cold hard ground, but from a living industrious mollusk.

Pearls have been prized in all time periods and all cultures. Historically baroque pearls (large irregularly shaped pearls) were used to make wonderful and fantastic jewelry by embellishing them with gold and gems. Frequently these took the shape of Neptune or other Greek gods, sirens, beautiful women and animals. The Canning Jewel in the Victoria and Albert Museum is a famous and elaborate use of a baroque as the base for a handsome merman.

Black pearls, particularly Tahitian black pearls have become very popular in recent years. They come in a range of colors from spectacular purples and greens, through pinks to sophisticated browns. All are lovely and the range of colors gives them a great deal of flexibility in choosing just the right pearl for your outfit and fashion mood. The most beautiful black pearl necklace I've seen was from Morrison's a small manufacturing jeweler in Berkeley. The pearls were arranged in a rainbow strung together so that each color melted into the one next to it, talk about stunning. And of course, what could be more romantic than pearls from Tahiti?

(By the way, if you wear pearls, do wear them against your skin, it is good for them, but be sure that you do not wear any perfume, scent or lotion, at least not where it might contact your pearls, okay?)

Emeralds and rubies are traditionally the emperor and empress of gems. Perhaps it is their vibrant colors that inspired our ancestors. Certainly, that vivid blood red and cool serpent green are hard to ignore. Even today emeralds and rubies of equal size and quality are more expensive than equivalent diamonds are.

In Victorian times colored gems were used to spell out love messages. Sometimes this made for interesting and not necessarily attractive settings, but it is very romantic. For instance, a piece of jewelry might have these gems in order:

LOVE: Lapis, Opal, Vermeil, and Emerald.
REGARD: Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, along with Ruby and Diamond.

The shape of jewelry too can harbor a romantic message. Hearts and clasped hands, hands holding a heart and cupids are self-explanatory, but some shapes are a bit more subtle.

For many cultures, including the Romans and the Victorians, snakes were a symbol of enduring love. A snake biting its own tail to form a circle is a particularly potent symbol of everlasting love. Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria a snake engagement ring -- at the beginning of a long and celebrated marriage.

Interestingly lizards and frogs were (and perhaps still are) also symbols of wedded happiness. Perhaps this explains the continuing popularity of jewelry depicting these wiggly creatures.

Jewelry in the shape of flowers may also be symbolic. To quote Ophelia "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray, love, remember: and there are pansies. That’s for thoughts."

Other flowers commonly found in jewelry are daisies for innocence, roses for the growth and continuation of love, and bouquets expressing the commingling and compatibility of marriage. When you are considering the perfect gift from that next anniversary, rather than the common "anniversary ring" how about a more romantic bouquet pendant?

So the next time you are looking through your jewel box before that special tryst or looking for the perfect gift for the perfect lover, consider the symbolic romance of jewelry and gems.