The Emotional Connection to Jewelry
Why certain pieces become more meaningful the longer we live with them.
Jewelry has an unusual relationship with time. We may choose a piece initially because we find it beautiful—the color of a stone, the shape of a ring, the way gold has been worked, or simply how it looks when we put it on. But the jewelry we wear often acquires another kind of value over time.
It becomes familiar. We reach for the same earrings without thinking. A ring begins to feel strange when it isn’t on our hand. A necklace becomes associated with a particular period of our life. The meaning wasn’t necessarily designed into the jewel. We give it meaning by living with it.
The Human Touch
Handcrafted jewelry begins with materials, tools, knowledge, and skilled hands. A goldsmith learns how metal responds to heat and pressure, how much material a particular construction requires, how a stone needs to be supported, how a surface should be finished, and how a piece needs to balance when worn.
There may also be subtle variations from one handmade piece to another. They are part of the character of a jewel that has been individually worked and finished by skilled hands.
Jewelry Changes with Us
Jewelry is made to be touched. Gold develops the small marks and changes in surface that come with wear. A ring can become smoother over time. A piece that was once completely new gradually takes on the character of something familiar and personal.
I don’t see these changes simply as deterioration. Within the normal life of a well-made jewel, they are evidence that it has been worn. This is one of the reasons vintage and inherited jewelry can have such presence. We know that an object has already had a life before it reached us. And with our own jewelry, we watch that process happen.
How Meaning Develops
Some jewelry begins with meaning. Engagement rings, anniversary gifts, family pieces, and jewelry given to mark an important moment carry an association from the beginning.
But not all meaningful jewelry starts that way. Sometimes the piece we become most attached to is simply the one we wear most often. It accompanies ordinary days as well as important ones. Eventually, it becomes associated with a period of our life, a place, a person, or simply with ourselves.
This is something I find particularly interesting about jewelry: meaning can be given to it, but meaning can also be acquired.
Made to Last, Made to Be Worn
Craftsmanship matters because jewelry is made to be worn. Good materials, construction, proportion, and finishing allow a piece to remain part of our lives over time.
At Via Orefici, I look for jewelry with beauty and character, but also pieces that feel good to wear and can remain relevant beyond a particular season or trend. Jewelry becomes more meaningful through being worn and becoming part of our lives. It is the jewelry we live with.