ššš January 4, 2020 12:26 PM Subscribe
End of another long week, let's carve out a space to talk about something other than politics for those that need that space. Let's talk about jewellery. Do you wear jewellery? Do you make it? Do you have a story about a piece that has been handed down through your family? Is gold your colour or maybe silver? Or do you prefer gemstones and/or diamonds? Are you allergic? Maybe you don't wear it because of your line of work or personal preference, feel free to discuss that here as well, it's an open chat. Feel free to share photos of what you're wearing. As always, be kind to yourself and to others. Cheers.
Jewellery/art I have bookmarked:
Mars Ring
White Beam Toolboxes
Talking Ring
posted by zamboni at 12:44 PM on January 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
Mars Ring
White Beam Toolboxes
Talking Ring
posted by zamboni at 12:44 PM on January 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
I don't wear jewellery, the feel of a ring on my finger drives me to distraction, and I have a nickel allergy. I wore a nosering for a while In my 20's, before the metal allergy had really asserted itself as an impossible to ignore crusty skin nightmare.
I did have a side hustle for a while making pendants that looked like little hands wrapped in copper wire, think I stole the idea from something I saw once. Me and a couple friends went in on a vendors booth at I think the second and third Toronto Lollapallozas (actually an hour north, in Barrie) but we lost money on the second and that was it for the creepy hand pendant hobby.
I have a friend who makes some very cool jewellery in Brussels, though.
posted by rodlymight at 12:51 PM on January 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
I did have a side hustle for a while making pendants that looked like little hands wrapped in copper wire, think I stole the idea from something I saw once. Me and a couple friends went in on a vendors booth at I think the second and third Toronto Lollapallozas (actually an hour north, in Barrie) but we lost money on the second and that was it for the creepy hand pendant hobby.
I have a friend who makes some very cool jewellery in Brussels, though.
posted by rodlymight at 12:51 PM on January 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
I only wear one piece of jewelry regularly, my engagement ring. I am not a sparkly sort of girl so when we were thinking about getting married, I was dreading the whole ring thing.
Then I realized, "hey wait a minute, I don't have to have a diamond! I don't even have to have a gem or anything sparkly at all!!". For a little while I looked into rings made out of dinosaur bone, meteorite, amber with a bug in it...but what I really wanted was an agate. So I found the perfect agate ring online and had a friend put a bug in Herr Duck's ear about it. Voila, agate engagement ring! (no pic of it on my hand...I tried but can't get a good picture). It looks a little bit like vines in front of a gas planet. It's my favorite thing ever. It was a one-off from an online jeweler, but I don't even remember where it came from. It was the only agate thing they had.
The other jewelry I have is mostly gold. My favorite color is yellow and there's just not that much yellow stuff out there that is not either neon exercise clothing or pastel. I also look like a corpse when I wear yellow near my face, so gold touches it is.
posted by Gray Duck at 1:02 PM on January 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
Then I realized, "hey wait a minute, I don't have to have a diamond! I don't even have to have a gem or anything sparkly at all!!". For a little while I looked into rings made out of dinosaur bone, meteorite, amber with a bug in it...but what I really wanted was an agate. So I found the perfect agate ring online and had a friend put a bug in Herr Duck's ear about it. Voila, agate engagement ring! (no pic of it on my hand...I tried but can't get a good picture). It looks a little bit like vines in front of a gas planet. It's my favorite thing ever. It was a one-off from an online jeweler, but I don't even remember where it came from. It was the only agate thing they had.
The other jewelry I have is mostly gold. My favorite color is yellow and there's just not that much yellow stuff out there that is not either neon exercise clothing or pastel. I also look like a corpse when I wear yellow near my face, so gold touches it is.
posted by Gray Duck at 1:02 PM on January 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
I also don't like wearing jewelry and I occasionally work with machines that make rings dangerous so I got my wedding ring as a tattoo.
posted by Uncle at 1:13 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Uncle at 1:13 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
I wear a Nokia [semi]smartwatch, because my experience with Nokia phones back in the day has led me to believe that, come the heat death of the universe, there will be some cockroaches, a kitchenaid mixer, and nokia cell phones laying around. Figured I might as well give their watch a try after I grew less attached to my Seiko self winding wristwatch which, to be fair, was mostly due to the band getting smelly...
I had a previous askme question that led me to my wedding ring choice (wooden) but they didn't prove durable enough for me and the wife and I just eschew wearing them anyway so that's not an issue for me...
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:16 PM on January 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
I had a previous askme question that led me to my wedding ring choice (wooden) but they didn't prove durable enough for me and the wife and I just eschew wearing them anyway so that's not an issue for me...
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:16 PM on January 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
I wear a wedding ring, and a watch with wooden band. I used to think that I couldnāt wear any kind of jewelry, and I mostly canāt, but if my skin can breathe itās alright, otherwise I get an unsightly and itchy rash.
The ring is thin enough and just loose enough for it to work, and the wooden band on the watch allows air through.
posted by Kattullus at 1:18 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
The ring is thin enough and just loose enough for it to work, and the wooden band on the watch allows air through.
posted by Kattullus at 1:18 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
I got out of the habit of wearing rings when I was working as a conservator, but I still like necklaces and tiny stud earrings. I don't wear either tons, but I do have a small collection of pieces that are really special to me, especially the necklaces. One is a beautiful brass hare that makes me think of Tiffany from the Discworld novels. The other is a chain of gingko leaves in some kind of pale green metal. I really didn't have the money I spent on it at the time, but I'm so happy I did so anyway -- it's really lovely, and I try to wear it a lot.
Really, as much as I like jewelry, I ought to wear it more often.
posted by kalimac at 1:22 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
Really, as much as I like jewelry, I ought to wear it more often.
posted by kalimac at 1:22 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
Wow, Kattullus, I really like that wooden watch! I think that something like that might turn me into a watch-wearer.
posted by Gray Duck at 1:41 PM on January 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Gray Duck at 1:41 PM on January 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
my mom makes jewelry and i get lots of her technique experiments. i like the rings with lots of layers/wrapping/textures for stimming, and i usually have something new from her by the time i fidget it to breaking, so I don't have to feel bad about it.
posted by gaybobbie at 1:46 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by gaybobbie at 1:46 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
So, way back in another life, I made jewelry in a production house. Basically an assembly line factory for high-end jewelry. It was all very high levels of artisanship, so it wasn't mere grunt-work. It was amazing to play with gold and diamonds and emeralds and rubies and to learn all the steps required in creating something beautiful.
Well, I say beautiful. That's likely in the eye of the beholder. We were doing jewelry adaptations for the Erte estate, so the stuff looked like this. One of the more difficult pieces to make was this necklace of foxes. And during my time there, I did the diamond pavƩ in over 6000 of these rings.
We also did a lot of production work for Santa Fe silver artists. Things like making 500 identical belt buckle and keeper sets and stuff.
I learned it all while I was there, from the wax injection to investing to casting to assembly to end finishing. It was an amazing place to work, full of very creative people who were all seeking to do their craft well and to develop their skills, and we were making really great money and were treated really well by the business.
Up until the owner developed a coke habit and snorted the entire place up his nose within a year and the place closed and all these people were scattered to the wind and I've never had such a great job ever since. Sad but true.
Later, when I was living briefly in Sedona, AZ, I used my experience there to get a job working in Robert Shields' jewelry studio doing much the same thing only for one very quirky artist instead of large scale production. That job was also fun, but I eventually had to leave it when mr. hippybear and I moved out of town. I haven't worked in jewelry ever since, but I miss it a lot.
posted by hippybear at 1:53 PM on January 4, 2020 [24 favorites]
Well, I say beautiful. That's likely in the eye of the beholder. We were doing jewelry adaptations for the Erte estate, so the stuff looked like this. One of the more difficult pieces to make was this necklace of foxes. And during my time there, I did the diamond pavƩ in over 6000 of these rings.
We also did a lot of production work for Santa Fe silver artists. Things like making 500 identical belt buckle and keeper sets and stuff.
I learned it all while I was there, from the wax injection to investing to casting to assembly to end finishing. It was an amazing place to work, full of very creative people who were all seeking to do their craft well and to develop their skills, and we were making really great money and were treated really well by the business.
Up until the owner developed a coke habit and snorted the entire place up his nose within a year and the place closed and all these people were scattered to the wind and I've never had such a great job ever since. Sad but true.
Later, when I was living briefly in Sedona, AZ, I used my experience there to get a job working in Robert Shields' jewelry studio doing much the same thing only for one very quirky artist instead of large scale production. That job was also fun, but I eventually had to leave it when mr. hippybear and I moved out of town. I haven't worked in jewelry ever since, but I miss it a lot.
posted by hippybear at 1:53 PM on January 4, 2020 [24 favorites]
I actually got married a couple of weeks ago! (we have been together for around 15 years, but we're moving at the end of the month and the Singapore govt, in all its glory, chooses not to acknowledge de facto relationships. Thus a great union was formed!).
I wanted to get a plain-ish ring, but something with a bit of style. Sadly, most rings aimed at men are the most testosterone-soaked, emo, edgelord bullshit - so I was struggling to find something, until I came across the perfect jeweller. I asked him to make these, titanium, with band of white gold. I think they're gorgeous, just like my new marriage!
posted by smoke at 1:56 PM on January 4, 2020 [21 favorites]
I wanted to get a plain-ish ring, but something with a bit of style. Sadly, most rings aimed at men are the most testosterone-soaked, emo, edgelord bullshit - so I was struggling to find something, until I came across the perfect jeweller. I asked him to make these, titanium, with band of white gold. I think they're gorgeous, just like my new marriage!
posted by smoke at 1:56 PM on January 4, 2020 [21 favorites]
smoke: those are truly beautiful. I admire your taste!
posted by hippybear at 2:12 PM on January 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 2:12 PM on January 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
I had my ears pierced in junior high, and I love wearing earrings. Sadly, about 15 years ago, my right ear in particular started showing signs of possible metal allergy whenever I put in an earring, and with great reluctance I stopped trying.
Time passed and I didn't see any other symptoms of metal allergy. After some conversations (maybe even an Ask post), I decided to try a repiercing a couple years ago.
I went to piercers with good reputations and gave it a go. Turns out the problem was that I wasn't wearing earrings at all most of the time during the early aughts and, well, nature abhors a vacuum. Took a while to heal, but all is well now and I wear cheap hoops and wires of all kinds with no issues. I make sure to wear tiny studs to bed most of the time.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 2:53 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
Time passed and I didn't see any other symptoms of metal allergy. After some conversations (maybe even an Ask post), I decided to try a repiercing a couple years ago.
I went to piercers with good reputations and gave it a go. Turns out the problem was that I wasn't wearing earrings at all most of the time during the early aughts and, well, nature abhors a vacuum. Took a while to heal, but all is well now and I wear cheap hoops and wires of all kinds with no issues. I make sure to wear tiny studs to bed most of the time.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 2:53 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
When I was a small child my grandfather gave me a brooch he found in the garbage (he was an immigrant who grew up in dire poverty and was quite the garbage picker). It was gold with blue stones. I treasured it and carefully saved it in my jewelry box, keeping it for when I became a fancy grownup lady and could wear it with a ball gown (because of course my adult life was going to be full of ball gowns). Eventually I realized it was a very cheap childās brooch, and I never did wear it. I still have it though. And I treasure it.
posted by FencingGal at 3:02 PM on January 4, 2020 [15 favorites]
posted by FencingGal at 3:02 PM on January 4, 2020 [15 favorites]
No rings or bracelet, I will worry at them constantly. Hoop earrings and long necklaces have become my thing, usually in thin/light metal because I don't like to wear heavy stuff. I have a few pins that were my mom's that go with scarves now and then.
I have been thinking lately that a few ring tattoos might be cool.
posted by emjaybee at 3:25 PM on January 4, 2020
I have been thinking lately that a few ring tattoos might be cool.
posted by emjaybee at 3:25 PM on January 4, 2020
God, I love jewelry. My rule for daily wear is I wear only two pieces plus a watch at a time (for evening wear it's four pieces and no watch), but I feel only half dressed without it. I've had two home burglaries, and both times the thieves took most of my jewelry. It was harder to lose it than the other things they took. You can never get the same pieces again, and it's so personal. I find my pieces always become imbued with my memories of wearing them, and so many of the pieces were gifts. I can never replace my silver baby bracelet, or the gold signet ring my father gave me for my 16th birthday, or the coral necklaces a high school boyfriend brought back from a family trip to Columbia, etc.
I promptly decided after the first burglary that I was not going to try to replicate my old collection but was going to buy new pieces that I loved, and I decided to do that the second time too. It wouldn't be quite the same, and I would be reminded of what I lost everytime I looked at it. There are still pieces I miss a lot, such as a little pair of Monet earrings made of linked teal and green glass pieces. Everytime I wore those earrings someone would comment on how nice they were. There was also a $10 Reitman's necklace that just seemed to go so well with so many of my clothes, and for which I also received daily compliments.
I did promise myself that if I happened to come across any identical pieces again, I could buy them. I was so thrilled when I did come across the twin of a Christmas bracelet I had had in a thrift shop, of small ovals depicting late Victorian Christmas scenes linked together. I don't like Christmas jewelry as a rule (seems to me like a slippery slope that will lead to me being the kind of 55-year-old woman who wears sequinned reindeer sweatshirts), but that one is so pretty and I love wearing it so much and I had missed it.
I've rebuilt my collection, and have so many beloved pieces. My antique Art Nouveau blister pearl ring (when I was picking it out and showed a photo of a similar ring to a now ex, he said it looked like a nipple and why would I wear a nipple on my finger? I had to agree he had a point, and bought a different, less nipple-like ring). My little collection of peridot pieces (my birthday is in August -- I detested my birthstone from adolescence until one day in my early thirties when I clued in that peridots actually really suited me and my wardrobe palette). My antique carnelian ring. The Edwardian silver aide-de-memoire I wear on a long silver chain. My silver swan ring. My little silver rose pendant necklace. My little cloisonné swan pendant necklace. My little Soviet-era "Swan Geese" pin. My carved swan pendant.
I hardly ever buy jewelry these days, with money so tight, and I do have lots of jewelry and can always find something suitable for any outfit I am wearing, but I glance over the jewelry counters at the thrift shops in my area whenever I'm there, and tell myself that if I find something fabulous that isn't like anything else I have, I can buy it. There are a few specific things on my want list: a gold chain for a certain little gold locket I have, and a gold ankle bracelet for a gold swan charm I have. I've begun to think I would also like a silver tree of life pendant necklace, to help remind myself that, like a tree, I can remain vital and productive as I age. And I lust after these Italian ribbon twist earrings and someday will buy one of the very similar pairs of earrings that occasionally pop up on eBay. I, er, may have a search set up for it. I have a Pinterest jewelry board set up, of course. I find it such a feast for the eyes.
I make jewelry too. Just simple beaded necklaces and earrings for the most part. (At some point I want to upgrade my jewelry-making skills.) I've got a carnelian necklace I have the supplies to make, and a special peridot chip necklace I am trying to find the special findings to make. I also make pieces for friends and family. This past summer when my grandniece turned ten, I gave her a necklace and earring set that I tried to design to be appropriate for the 10-15 age. For Christmas 2018, I gave my sister a necklace and earring set that I tried to make quite glam.
I think sometimes of the necklaces I made for my friend Marika, who died in 2017. When we were cleaning out her apartment and I came across them, I debated whether to take them or not. I made them to suit her and to accord with her taste, which was not like mine, so they weren't something I wanted to wear myself, yet at the same time I found I couldn't bear to just leave them and let them go to a thrift shop, where their history would be totally lost. I felt so torn about it I eventually just took them, promising myself I would figure out what to do with them afterwards. It was that very evening that it occurred to me that Marika and I had had a number of mutual friends/acquaintances, and that I should give the necklaces to two of them, so that they would have something to remember Marika by. I chose two women I thought would like the necklaces and whom they would suit, emailed them making the offer and including a photo of the necklace in question, and they both said they would love to have it, so that's what I did. I wonder if I'm going to feel similarly about my mother's jewelry when she goes (she's 81 now), as I have given her quite a number of pieces over the years. Again... I bought them/made them especially for her, and most of those pieces won't be right for me.
I like rings because one gets to see them all day long. I'm not a big bracelet person, but do have some. Necklaces are so easy to wear -- just put them on in the morning and forget about them. Someone will comment on one I'm wearing and I have to reach up and touch it to remind myself of which one I'm wearing. Earrings stress me out a bit because I'm always afraid they'll fall out or get caught on something. Brooches leave holes in your clothes, argh.
Gold is better on me than silver, but I do wear some silver as gold can be too dressy to go with very casual clothes. I love peridot, aquamarine, carnelian, amber, opal, seed pearls, and cameos -- happily these are all reasonably priced types. I don't like diamonds really -- they're too flashy, and I don't feel they suit me or my style. I said that to my mother once, and she looked at me aghast and said, "Don't go around saying that!"
I could seriously go on all evening musing about jewelry.
Jewelry.
posted by orange swan at 3:27 PM on January 4, 2020 [29 favorites]
I promptly decided after the first burglary that I was not going to try to replicate my old collection but was going to buy new pieces that I loved, and I decided to do that the second time too. It wouldn't be quite the same, and I would be reminded of what I lost everytime I looked at it. There are still pieces I miss a lot, such as a little pair of Monet earrings made of linked teal and green glass pieces. Everytime I wore those earrings someone would comment on how nice they were. There was also a $10 Reitman's necklace that just seemed to go so well with so many of my clothes, and for which I also received daily compliments.
I did promise myself that if I happened to come across any identical pieces again, I could buy them. I was so thrilled when I did come across the twin of a Christmas bracelet I had had in a thrift shop, of small ovals depicting late Victorian Christmas scenes linked together. I don't like Christmas jewelry as a rule (seems to me like a slippery slope that will lead to me being the kind of 55-year-old woman who wears sequinned reindeer sweatshirts), but that one is so pretty and I love wearing it so much and I had missed it.
I've rebuilt my collection, and have so many beloved pieces. My antique Art Nouveau blister pearl ring (when I was picking it out and showed a photo of a similar ring to a now ex, he said it looked like a nipple and why would I wear a nipple on my finger? I had to agree he had a point, and bought a different, less nipple-like ring). My little collection of peridot pieces (my birthday is in August -- I detested my birthstone from adolescence until one day in my early thirties when I clued in that peridots actually really suited me and my wardrobe palette). My antique carnelian ring. The Edwardian silver aide-de-memoire I wear on a long silver chain. My silver swan ring. My little silver rose pendant necklace. My little cloisonné swan pendant necklace. My little Soviet-era "Swan Geese" pin. My carved swan pendant.
I hardly ever buy jewelry these days, with money so tight, and I do have lots of jewelry and can always find something suitable for any outfit I am wearing, but I glance over the jewelry counters at the thrift shops in my area whenever I'm there, and tell myself that if I find something fabulous that isn't like anything else I have, I can buy it. There are a few specific things on my want list: a gold chain for a certain little gold locket I have, and a gold ankle bracelet for a gold swan charm I have. I've begun to think I would also like a silver tree of life pendant necklace, to help remind myself that, like a tree, I can remain vital and productive as I age. And I lust after these Italian ribbon twist earrings and someday will buy one of the very similar pairs of earrings that occasionally pop up on eBay. I, er, may have a search set up for it. I have a Pinterest jewelry board set up, of course. I find it such a feast for the eyes.
I make jewelry too. Just simple beaded necklaces and earrings for the most part. (At some point I want to upgrade my jewelry-making skills.) I've got a carnelian necklace I have the supplies to make, and a special peridot chip necklace I am trying to find the special findings to make. I also make pieces for friends and family. This past summer when my grandniece turned ten, I gave her a necklace and earring set that I tried to design to be appropriate for the 10-15 age. For Christmas 2018, I gave my sister a necklace and earring set that I tried to make quite glam.
I think sometimes of the necklaces I made for my friend Marika, who died in 2017. When we were cleaning out her apartment and I came across them, I debated whether to take them or not. I made them to suit her and to accord with her taste, which was not like mine, so they weren't something I wanted to wear myself, yet at the same time I found I couldn't bear to just leave them and let them go to a thrift shop, where their history would be totally lost. I felt so torn about it I eventually just took them, promising myself I would figure out what to do with them afterwards. It was that very evening that it occurred to me that Marika and I had had a number of mutual friends/acquaintances, and that I should give the necklaces to two of them, so that they would have something to remember Marika by. I chose two women I thought would like the necklaces and whom they would suit, emailed them making the offer and including a photo of the necklace in question, and they both said they would love to have it, so that's what I did. I wonder if I'm going to feel similarly about my mother's jewelry when she goes (she's 81 now), as I have given her quite a number of pieces over the years. Again... I bought them/made them especially for her, and most of those pieces won't be right for me.
I like rings because one gets to see them all day long. I'm not a big bracelet person, but do have some. Necklaces are so easy to wear -- just put them on in the morning and forget about them. Someone will comment on one I'm wearing and I have to reach up and touch it to remind myself of which one I'm wearing. Earrings stress me out a bit because I'm always afraid they'll fall out or get caught on something. Brooches leave holes in your clothes, argh.
Gold is better on me than silver, but I do wear some silver as gold can be too dressy to go with very casual clothes. I love peridot, aquamarine, carnelian, amber, opal, seed pearls, and cameos -- happily these are all reasonably priced types. I don't like diamonds really -- they're too flashy, and I don't feel they suit me or my style. I said that to my mother once, and she looked at me aghast and said, "Don't go around saying that!"
I could seriously go on all evening musing about jewelry.
Jewelry.
posted by orange swan at 3:27 PM on January 4, 2020 [29 favorites]
I wear my wedding ring (white gold) on my left hand and my great-grandmotherās wedding ring (rose gold) on my right, a gift from my grandfather when he died.
I also wear a variety of necklaces, nothing thatās worth much to anybody but me. Once a few years back I saw a necklace in a shop window made of stones that were shaped like wugs. I still regret not going in and buying it on the spot.
posted by eirias at 3:32 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
I also wear a variety of necklaces, nothing thatās worth much to anybody but me. Once a few years back I saw a necklace in a shop window made of stones that were shaped like wugs. I still regret not going in and buying it on the spot.
posted by eirias at 3:32 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
I used to wear a simple thin silver chain around my neck, but I was young and impressionable. Now I wear nothing shiny.
posted by pracowity at 3:32 PM on January 4, 2020
posted by pracowity at 3:32 PM on January 4, 2020
I'm 43 and I'm wearing a ring I made my mother in high school art class. I found it, unworn, on a visit home from college. I've been wearing it ever since!
posted by kinsey at 3:55 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by kinsey at 3:55 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
Other than my wedding ring, the only piece of jewelry I wear every day is a silver band that says āI love it when a plan comes together!ā Long story I wonāt get into here, but it has a lot of sentimental value.
I have some expensive jewelry that I got from my mother and so on, but the piece of jewelry I get the most compliments on is one I picked up from a plain old street fair, not one of the fancy ones. Itās a āMurano glassā pendant, in quotes because I doubt itās genuine Murano glass.
posted by holborne at 4:01 PM on January 4, 2020
I have some expensive jewelry that I got from my mother and so on, but the piece of jewelry I get the most compliments on is one I picked up from a plain old street fair, not one of the fancy ones. Itās a āMurano glassā pendant, in quotes because I doubt itās genuine Murano glass.
posted by holborne at 4:01 PM on January 4, 2020
I love jewelry and orange swan, that pinterest board is fantastic!
My engagement ring is a diamond solitaire. The stone belonged to misterussell's grandmother and we had it put in a white gold setting. The wedding band was purchased from an Etsy shop, it's white gold with a wavy line carved through it. My right hand ring is a 10k claddagh that I bought at Kohl's in the early 2000s when I started to realize my first marriage was dying. I'm contemplating replacing it for an upcoming milestone birthday. I wear cheapy Puravida wave rings on my index fingers because I love the beach.
I have a string of pearls that a stranger on Twitter gifted me when I said I always wanted one but would never ask for one for a gift and she said she had one and NEVER wore it. They may be real, they may be really good fakes but they're lovely and they're mine. Other necklaces include a typewriter key pendant with my initial, a locket, a RBG dissent collar pendant, a pave mickey mouse head pendant (looks nicer than it sounds), and a bow necklace from Kate Spade.
Earrings...I love them. But my hair catches in them and pulls them out. For Christmas, misterussell bought me a few different pair of fake diamond earrings in sterling silver. I immediately popped the smallest pair in my second earholes and will rotate the others around without the fear I'd have if they were gold and actual diamonds. I have many costume-variety earrings, but my favorite of those are glow in the dark hearthstone (from Warcraft) earrings that are the only pair I wear when I'm travelling home from far away.
I have an Apple Watch with a Mickey Mouse face on it, and an assortment of Alex and Ani and Puravida woven bracelets that I wear based on my mood.
I used to make (costume) jewelry, and still feel badly that I could never get back into it.
posted by kimberussell at 4:33 PM on January 4, 2020
My engagement ring is a diamond solitaire. The stone belonged to misterussell's grandmother and we had it put in a white gold setting. The wedding band was purchased from an Etsy shop, it's white gold with a wavy line carved through it. My right hand ring is a 10k claddagh that I bought at Kohl's in the early 2000s when I started to realize my first marriage was dying. I'm contemplating replacing it for an upcoming milestone birthday. I wear cheapy Puravida wave rings on my index fingers because I love the beach.
I have a string of pearls that a stranger on Twitter gifted me when I said I always wanted one but would never ask for one for a gift and she said she had one and NEVER wore it. They may be real, they may be really good fakes but they're lovely and they're mine. Other necklaces include a typewriter key pendant with my initial, a locket, a RBG dissent collar pendant, a pave mickey mouse head pendant (looks nicer than it sounds), and a bow necklace from Kate Spade.
Earrings...I love them. But my hair catches in them and pulls them out. For Christmas, misterussell bought me a few different pair of fake diamond earrings in sterling silver. I immediately popped the smallest pair in my second earholes and will rotate the others around without the fear I'd have if they were gold and actual diamonds. I have many costume-variety earrings, but my favorite of those are glow in the dark hearthstone (from Warcraft) earrings that are the only pair I wear when I'm travelling home from far away.
I have an Apple Watch with a Mickey Mouse face on it, and an assortment of Alex and Ani and Puravida woven bracelets that I wear based on my mood.
I used to make (costume) jewelry, and still feel badly that I could never get back into it.
posted by kimberussell at 4:33 PM on January 4, 2020
My only jewelry items are my wedding ring and a jade pendant I was given by my mother-in-law to welcome me to her family. I also wear a wristwatch, but itās a digital Casio worth about $10 so I donāt really count it as ājewelryā. š
posted by a device for making your enemy change his mind at 5:16 PM on January 4, 2020
posted by a device for making your enemy change his mind at 5:16 PM on January 4, 2020
My dear cousin died by suicide when he was 17, in 2012. His father is my godfather and I've always been close to him, his wife, and the other kids (four brothers). My son's due date two years after my cousin's death was my late cousin's birthday (my son came three weeks early). We named our son after my cousin, and my aunt and uncle gave me an initial necklace, ringed in tiny diamonds (April birthday). I haven't taken it off since 2014.
About 15 years ago, I inherited from my dear Babcia a pink sapphire ring surrounded by a flower of tiny diamonds. It was stolen. I really, really want to recreate it someday.
Other than that, I wear a wedding band (with or without my engagement ring) and cheapo earrings that I've typically gotten at Target or Amazon. And a smart watch.
posted by Pax at 5:52 PM on January 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
About 15 years ago, I inherited from my dear Babcia a pink sapphire ring surrounded by a flower of tiny diamonds. It was stolen. I really, really want to recreate it someday.
Other than that, I wear a wedding band (with or without my engagement ring) and cheapo earrings that I've typically gotten at Target or Amazon. And a smart watch.
posted by Pax at 5:52 PM on January 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
As my own wedding ring, I wear my grandmother's which is engraved with my grandparents' wedding date (January 21, 1932) and "Lu", the first two letters of her name. It's just a plain, narrow, gold band although it is 18k gold. She wore it from 1932 until December, 1958 when she died, and I've been wearing it since my own wedding in August, 1979. My own kids are married, but I like to imagine that a grandkid might wear it one day.
Apart from that, I love brooches, and was thrilled when the first season of The Crown was such a success because I thought the displays from Queen Elizabeth's dazzling collection might bring them back into fashion. Nearly all my brooches are quite cheap, a couple are better quality costume jewelry, and I have one really valuable brooch. It belonged to the same grandmother whose wedding ring I wear and is a bar of white gold, studded with diamonds. I used to work at a local museum and brought it to the cultural history curator to have a look at. She sort of sniffed at the brooch, but went bonkers because I have its original case with the Berlin jeweler's name in the lining. I've worn it a handful of times, but on very special occasions only.
I've been wearing a wristwatch since I was about 5 years old, but as soon as digital watches with alarm and timer functions became available, I switched to one of those. I use a Fitbit Inspire HR as a watch now, and the only time I take it off is to shower/bathe/swim and to charge it.
posted by angiep at 6:11 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
Apart from that, I love brooches, and was thrilled when the first season of The Crown was such a success because I thought the displays from Queen Elizabeth's dazzling collection might bring them back into fashion. Nearly all my brooches are quite cheap, a couple are better quality costume jewelry, and I have one really valuable brooch. It belonged to the same grandmother whose wedding ring I wear and is a bar of white gold, studded with diamonds. I used to work at a local museum and brought it to the cultural history curator to have a look at. She sort of sniffed at the brooch, but went bonkers because I have its original case with the Berlin jeweler's name in the lining. I've worn it a handful of times, but on very special occasions only.
I've been wearing a wristwatch since I was about 5 years old, but as soon as digital watches with alarm and timer functions became available, I switched to one of those. I use a Fitbit Inspire HR as a watch now, and the only time I take it off is to shower/bathe/swim and to charge it.
posted by angiep at 6:11 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't really wear jewelry. Perhaps it's a side effect from living around anabaptists for a lot of my life. Jewelry seems too proud. Too fancy.
When I used to run a lot I wore a leather and three bead anklet. I liked how it provided a haptic rhythm on my ankle as iI ran. And yeah, it looked cool. It wasn't long after the leather cord finally wore thin and broke that I stopped running, though the pulmonary embolism and the cancer scare didn't help. I wonder if I'd be in better shape if I had just replaced it.
I used to wear an earring back when it would annoy people to see a man with an earring. I stopped wearing it when the people I wore it to piss off started wearing thier own.
After my dad died I started wearing his special forces ring. It's a big showy thing he had made to commemorate his time in the service as a green beret, but it's huge, like a super bowl ring, or an obnoxious class ring. It's not the kind of thing you'd expect on a guy like me, sort of a bulky hippy with a beard and long hair. I wore it to forgive him, I think. Maybe to finally accept him after he passed. It eventually split so I can't wear it now without it pinching. Sometimes I still do when I'm thinking about him and my mom. The pinching seems like a penance, a gaudy gold hair shirt that I wear to remember my role in our family discord.
I do still wear my wedding ring, but it's a pretty simple gold band. Could have been sawed off the end of a piece of gold conduit. There's nothing on the outside. Sometimes on the inside I think I see some nonsense text. Someone once told me it looked like elvish script. You can only really see it when it's really hot out, oddly, and I noticed when I wear it I tend to be invisible to anyone who's attractive, so maybe it has a purpose. I don't know. My wife told me it's the only jewelry she'd ever give me. Just that One Ring, nothing else. I love her and all, but she found it in a cave so I'm not sure why she thinks I should think it's special. It's also almost impossible to take off. Anyway, I'm skeptical of jewelry and other than that ring, I really don't wear any. But do I need anything else?
posted by Stanczyk at 6:38 PM on January 4, 2020 [6 favorites]
When I used to run a lot I wore a leather and three bead anklet. I liked how it provided a haptic rhythm on my ankle as iI ran. And yeah, it looked cool. It wasn't long after the leather cord finally wore thin and broke that I stopped running, though the pulmonary embolism and the cancer scare didn't help. I wonder if I'd be in better shape if I had just replaced it.
I used to wear an earring back when it would annoy people to see a man with an earring. I stopped wearing it when the people I wore it to piss off started wearing thier own.
After my dad died I started wearing his special forces ring. It's a big showy thing he had made to commemorate his time in the service as a green beret, but it's huge, like a super bowl ring, or an obnoxious class ring. It's not the kind of thing you'd expect on a guy like me, sort of a bulky hippy with a beard and long hair. I wore it to forgive him, I think. Maybe to finally accept him after he passed. It eventually split so I can't wear it now without it pinching. Sometimes I still do when I'm thinking about him and my mom. The pinching seems like a penance, a gaudy gold hair shirt that I wear to remember my role in our family discord.
I do still wear my wedding ring, but it's a pretty simple gold band. Could have been sawed off the end of a piece of gold conduit. There's nothing on the outside. Sometimes on the inside I think I see some nonsense text. Someone once told me it looked like elvish script. You can only really see it when it's really hot out, oddly, and I noticed when I wear it I tend to be invisible to anyone who's attractive, so maybe it has a purpose. I don't know. My wife told me it's the only jewelry she'd ever give me. Just that One Ring, nothing else. I love her and all, but she found it in a cave so I'm not sure why she thinks I should think it's special. It's also almost impossible to take off. Anyway, I'm skeptical of jewelry and other than that ring, I really don't wear any. But do I need anything else?
posted by Stanczyk at 6:38 PM on January 4, 2020 [6 favorites]
On rings:
I feel they ruin the natural beauty of the hand. If you place a man-made object in a garden--something like a gazing ball--it will disrupt the flow of the landscape; your eye will be drawn to it rather than to the natural beauty of the whole. I feel like this about rings.
When I was married, I had a wedding band. It had been sized down to fit my very small finger by cutting a part of it out and then rejoining it. It always made me uncomfortable. When my marriage began to fall apart, the weld broke. I put the ring in my bag intending to get it repaired, but I never did.
My now ex-husband ran off with my ex-sister-in-law's sister. He took out a credit card to buy the sister-in-law's sister an engagement ring and the credit card statement is coming to my house. He is the most ruthlessly organized man I've ever met. All of his paperwork is always in order. And yet he can't manage to get his own address right on this particular item.
I had a big culling of belongings in preparation for the new year. Sitting on my kitchen counter is a ring my grandfather brought back from India after WWII for my grandmother. It's an opal surrounded by garnets. It's pretty but I won't be wearing it, I have no children, my grandparents are both gone, there's no one who wants it, and it's probably not worth anything. But I can't bring myself to get rid of it. I have a lot of of jewelry like this. For 30 years I've been going around and around with it, and it always wins.
posted by HotToddy at 7:04 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
I feel they ruin the natural beauty of the hand. If you place a man-made object in a garden--something like a gazing ball--it will disrupt the flow of the landscape; your eye will be drawn to it rather than to the natural beauty of the whole. I feel like this about rings.
When I was married, I had a wedding band. It had been sized down to fit my very small finger by cutting a part of it out and then rejoining it. It always made me uncomfortable. When my marriage began to fall apart, the weld broke. I put the ring in my bag intending to get it repaired, but I never did.
My now ex-husband ran off with my ex-sister-in-law's sister. He took out a credit card to buy the sister-in-law's sister an engagement ring and the credit card statement is coming to my house. He is the most ruthlessly organized man I've ever met. All of his paperwork is always in order. And yet he can't manage to get his own address right on this particular item.
I had a big culling of belongings in preparation for the new year. Sitting on my kitchen counter is a ring my grandfather brought back from India after WWII for my grandmother. It's an opal surrounded by garnets. It's pretty but I won't be wearing it, I have no children, my grandparents are both gone, there's no one who wants it, and it's probably not worth anything. But I can't bring myself to get rid of it. I have a lot of of jewelry like this. For 30 years I've been going around and around with it, and it always wins.
posted by HotToddy at 7:04 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
Opals are worth money. Thinking it's not worth anything is a mistake.
posted by hippybear at 7:19 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 7:19 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
I love big fancy dangly earrings! There's a store close to me that sells giant dangly earrings for around $15, which I can spring for every now and again, and I've spent a bit more buying some beaded, birch, and porcupine quill earrings from Native artists.
I have been wearing a magen david again consistently. I have a pretty traditional silver one, and last month I bought this beautiful gold "Jews in Space" star!
posted by ChuraChura at 7:20 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
I have been wearing a magen david again consistently. I have a pretty traditional silver one, and last month I bought this beautiful gold "Jews in Space" star!
posted by ChuraChura at 7:20 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
I have and wear no jewelry / piercings and usually find it silly on others.
However, for about 3 weeks maybe 6 years ago, I was inexplicably and strongly drawn to the idea of getting grillz just to see people's reaction.
That said, I often wear a DURR (Beta in bronze). Because it's functional, I don't consider it jewelry.
posted by dobbs at 7:55 PM on January 4, 2020
However, for about 3 weeks maybe 6 years ago, I was inexplicably and strongly drawn to the idea of getting grillz just to see people's reaction.
That said, I often wear a DURR (Beta in bronze). Because it's functional, I don't consider it jewelry.
posted by dobbs at 7:55 PM on January 4, 2020
I took a trip back to where I grew up (Michigan) this year, which was kind of emotional because 2019 was the year that I reached the age my mom was when she died. I'm 50 now - she never got to be 50. I figured a fordite ring was the perfect way to commemorate it. I got one with Leland blue and fordite from the fabulous On The Rocks store in Traverse City. Fordite is made from industrial leftovers, paint from the auto factories buffed so that layers of color show through, and it is lovely.
posted by selfmedicating at 7:56 PM on January 4, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by selfmedicating at 7:56 PM on January 4, 2020 [8 favorites]
My mother just gave my 5-year-old daughter a locket her grandmother gave her when she was five. This makes hearts fly out of my eyeballs.
I got out of the habit of wearing necklaces when my kid was a baby necklace-snatcher, but Iām starting again. I have a few pretty pendants. I ended up with some of my own grandmotherās excellent costume jewelry from the 60s and 70s, which is fun. Best of all, I have a few pieces from this artist - muskrat-tooth earrings. A big jawbone with the teeth replaced with clear quartz crystals. And my favorite, one I had custom-made: a tiny baby opposum jaw I found in my garden, which she attached to a ring and copper-plated then put on a copper chain. Some of her work is right up my alley - beautiful, sciencey and stealthily a tiny bit creepy. (My favorite necklace before was a tiny hummingbird skull cast in silver.)
When I got angrily divorced I threw my wedding ring off a ferry boat. I do not regret this. I hope some cephalopod is being fancy with it.
posted by centrifugal at 8:10 PM on January 4, 2020 [8 favorites]
I got out of the habit of wearing necklaces when my kid was a baby necklace-snatcher, but Iām starting again. I have a few pretty pendants. I ended up with some of my own grandmotherās excellent costume jewelry from the 60s and 70s, which is fun. Best of all, I have a few pieces from this artist - muskrat-tooth earrings. A big jawbone with the teeth replaced with clear quartz crystals. And my favorite, one I had custom-made: a tiny baby opposum jaw I found in my garden, which she attached to a ring and copper-plated then put on a copper chain. Some of her work is right up my alley - beautiful, sciencey and stealthily a tiny bit creepy. (My favorite necklace before was a tiny hummingbird skull cast in silver.)
When I got angrily divorced I threw my wedding ring off a ferry boat. I do not regret this. I hope some cephalopod is being fancy with it.
posted by centrifugal at 8:10 PM on January 4, 2020 [8 favorites]
I never wear any jewelry at all, which I suppose is somewhat unusual for a woman. At various times in my younger life I occasionally wore a bracelet or necklace or ring, but I'm pretty sure I haven't had any jewelry on in the past 20 years. I just don't see the point. It would get in the way, probably feel annoying, and I'd have to take care not to damage it or get it dirty or lose it. And it wouldn't make me feel better or prettier or anything. I don't even wear a watch anymore. I prefer not to have something rubbing and pressing all the time. (Yes, I am one of those people who cuts tags out of shirts and can't wear socks with uncomfortable seams.)
posted by Redstart at 8:14 PM on January 4, 2020
posted by Redstart at 8:14 PM on January 4, 2020
No rings no watches, no necklaces, no jewelry whatsoever. I do wear a big smile most of the time.
posted by AugustWest at 8:43 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by AugustWest at 8:43 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
Somebody mention DIAMOND, or 2.3 K cornflower blue sapphire and old cut pigeon blood 2.4 K Ruby....
Secretly, once a month, i dress as David Niven and watch heist films.
Never wore a watch, or wedding ring. A huge cross when I was 15 whilst trick-treating as Tony Iommi.
posted by clavdivs at 8:52 PM on January 4, 2020
Secretly, once a month, i dress as David Niven and watch heist films.
Never wore a watch, or wedding ring. A huge cross when I was 15 whilst trick-treating as Tony Iommi.
posted by clavdivs at 8:52 PM on January 4, 2020
I liked jewelry as a kid, and got my first ring in 6th grade. My brother and I got silver necklaces at some point when we were kids, and in high school, I took jewelry class as a senior. My work was pretty rudimentary, and I didn't have a girlfriend, so I made rings for myself, though I may have given a piece to my mom.
Then I stopped thinking about jewelry, until I met my wife. She loves big, bold, colorful jewelry, so I've paid more attention to jewelry since meeting her. Back in California, when we were double income, no kids (DINKs), I worked within walking distance of a number of nice jewelry stores, but one was a smaller place, mixing consignment pieces, vintage designs, and new pieces. We became friends with the owners' daughter and husband, so I'd go over on my lunch break to chat and look at jewelry, buying pieces on a whim or for events for my wife. Since then, we moved away, and I've picked up pieces for her here and there, but I still haven't found a shop like that one, where we could joke about the jewelry and they would hold something for us to see.
We got our rings at another local jeweler, who created custom wedding rings for us, based on the engagement ring I picked for my wife. That's the only jewelry I wear now.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:57 PM on January 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
Then I stopped thinking about jewelry, until I met my wife. She loves big, bold, colorful jewelry, so I've paid more attention to jewelry since meeting her. Back in California, when we were double income, no kids (DINKs), I worked within walking distance of a number of nice jewelry stores, but one was a smaller place, mixing consignment pieces, vintage designs, and new pieces. We became friends with the owners' daughter and husband, so I'd go over on my lunch break to chat and look at jewelry, buying pieces on a whim or for events for my wife. Since then, we moved away, and I've picked up pieces for her here and there, but I still haven't found a shop like that one, where we could joke about the jewelry and they would hold something for us to see.
We got our rings at another local jeweler, who created custom wedding rings for us, based on the engagement ring I picked for my wife. That's the only jewelry I wear now.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:57 PM on January 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
How do I tell if gold or silver is my color? all the color guides say that that's how you tell if your skin tone is cool or warm so I look at the silver ring and the gold ring and try to figure out which looks better on me and I can't tell.
posted by Cozybee at 9:19 PM on January 4, 2020
posted by Cozybee at 9:19 PM on January 4, 2020
š¤¹ā£ļøā¦ļøā„ļøā ļøš¹ļø
šāļøšš”š¦šŗšŗšŗšš„š£ļøšš©
š
posted by clavdivs at 9:35 PM on January 4, 2020
šāļøšš”š¦šŗšŗšŗšš„š£ļøšš©
š
posted by clavdivs at 9:35 PM on January 4, 2020
took a jewelry-making class once; bought some fine tools & made some clunky, ugly things of metal.
pierced my own ear, quite clumsily but with no lasting ill effect at 16. did some more piercing both self and by stranger at kiosk with a gun (got nose pierced that way too), somewhat gothic-mortification-of-the-fleshly, til my ears were full (wore some rings, some neclaces & an occasional bracelets too). my best friend jammed something through the top cartilage with vodka sterilization on one ear where, like many men of my general description, i still wear a modest hoop today. the rest of the sites lie fallow. lost my first telemarketing job, i was told, because my earrings jangled against the phone to loudly, but i was also terrible at it and a sullen, insubordinate drone. ultimately noticed rings made my hands colder faster and warmer slower, took 'em off. earrings too, mostly, over time. bracelets seemed to exacerbate times of carpal tunnel concern. took 'em off.
nowadays i wear that one hoop. when my baby asks me why i tell my baby that the extraterrestrial anthropologists must have tagged me one of those times i blacked out (we often pretend to be a scientist with a tranquilizer gun and some tracking gear and one of a variety of wild animals such a scientist might want to obtain data on). also, every day i wear a necklace, of colored plastic beads on bright green nylon (?) string, smaller than shoelace, with aglets at the ends, that little lurk made for me in nursery school.
i have an heirloom men's ring - gold with a garnet, but the garnet broke and i've never had it replaced; maybe it would fit my pinky - and a pocketwatch, which winds and everything but doesn't keep very good time. don't know the story of the ring. understand that a grandfather, or maybe his father, worked at the pocketwatch factory.
on preview: silver. can't tell you why.
posted by 20 year lurk at 9:46 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
pierced my own ear, quite clumsily but with no lasting ill effect at 16. did some more piercing both self and by stranger at kiosk with a gun (got nose pierced that way too), somewhat gothic-mortification-of-the-fleshly, til my ears were full (wore some rings, some neclaces & an occasional bracelets too). my best friend jammed something through the top cartilage with vodka sterilization on one ear where, like many men of my general description, i still wear a modest hoop today. the rest of the sites lie fallow. lost my first telemarketing job, i was told, because my earrings jangled against the phone to loudly, but i was also terrible at it and a sullen, insubordinate drone. ultimately noticed rings made my hands colder faster and warmer slower, took 'em off. earrings too, mostly, over time. bracelets seemed to exacerbate times of carpal tunnel concern. took 'em off.
nowadays i wear that one hoop. when my baby asks me why i tell my baby that the extraterrestrial anthropologists must have tagged me one of those times i blacked out (we often pretend to be a scientist with a tranquilizer gun and some tracking gear and one of a variety of wild animals such a scientist might want to obtain data on). also, every day i wear a necklace, of colored plastic beads on bright green nylon (?) string, smaller than shoelace, with aglets at the ends, that little lurk made for me in nursery school.
i have an heirloom men's ring - gold with a garnet, but the garnet broke and i've never had it replaced; maybe it would fit my pinky - and a pocketwatch, which winds and everything but doesn't keep very good time. don't know the story of the ring. understand that a grandfather, or maybe his father, worked at the pocketwatch factory.
on preview: silver. can't tell you why.
posted by 20 year lurk at 9:46 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
I get asked from time to time why I don't wear more jewelry since all I have is my wedding band and I love this question because I get to quote a line from To Catch a Thief: "I don't like cold things touching my skin."
Really though I've got long hair that tangles in everything and I've spent the majority of my life either outside where if something comes off it's lost or volunteering with animals where something shiny could be a problem. I love looking at jewelry as art though and am very glad other people wear it so I can admire it.
posted by lepus at 9:54 PM on January 4, 2020
Really though I've got long hair that tangles in everything and I've spent the majority of my life either outside where if something comes off it's lost or volunteering with animals where something shiny could be a problem. I love looking at jewelry as art though and am very glad other people wear it so I can admire it.
posted by lepus at 9:54 PM on January 4, 2020
I wear a replica of The One Ring that I bought off a guy in a dark car park. Yes, inscribed with genuine elvish on the inside. I'm not sure if it's wearing the ring or being a woman of a certain age, but I seem to be invisible most of the time.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:00 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:00 PM on January 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
In a perfect universe, Iād be wearing jewelry that emits hard radiation.
...in this universe, I wear nothing.
posted by aramaic at 10:45 PM on January 4, 2020
...in this universe, I wear nothing.
posted by aramaic at 10:45 PM on January 4, 2020
I recently received my mother's collection of bakelite jewelry. A few brooches, but mainly bracelets in many colors & styles from simple bangles to elaborately carved. Close to 90 in all. They are really lovely. She wore multiple bracelets every single day. Sadly, she can no longer wear them because she's in a care center. All accumulated over the years from auctions, antique stores, and garage & rummage sales. My job is to distribute them to the daughters/daughters-in-law & granddaughters. I recently gave my daughter a selection, which she put on and immediately said, "Oooh, I sound like Grandma!" pic* If you know bakelite, you know it has a distinctive clunk when tapped. Anyway, a beautiful collection and a lovely reminder of her for all of us.
I do wear jewelry. My collections are enamel flower pins from the seventies, bug jewelry, & mid-century costume jewelry pins. I have some artist pieces, too. And now some bakelite. I wear something everyday. I recently lost one of my favorite earrings (worn almost daily for 20 years) and am searching for a replacement.
*[The henna was done at the Muslim Cultural Center during Open House Chicago, one of my all time favorite events.]
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 10:59 PM on January 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
I do wear jewelry. My collections are enamel flower pins from the seventies, bug jewelry, & mid-century costume jewelry pins. I have some artist pieces, too. And now some bakelite. I wear something everyday. I recently lost one of my favorite earrings (worn almost daily for 20 years) and am searching for a replacement.
*[The henna was done at the Muslim Cultural Center during Open House Chicago, one of my all time favorite events.]
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 10:59 PM on January 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
My style is simple. Solid saturated colours, no pastels nor patterns, black trousers and combat boots. Post-goth/punk. So that leaves me plenty of room for jewellery. I love and adore earrings. I love and adore necklaces. I cannot abide rings. Love but rarely wear bracelets because computer.
Mr. Icing finds this interesting as heās never been with someone who almost always wears different earrings and necklace every day. Heās bought almost half of what I have. I think he picks the most odd things because it cracks him up.
He also made the earrings trees after watching me paw through piles and piles to find a missing mate.
posted by lemon_icing at 11:38 PM on January 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
Mr. Icing finds this interesting as heās never been with someone who almost always wears different earrings and necklace every day. Heās bought almost half of what I have. I think he picks the most odd things because it cracks him up.
He also made the earrings trees after watching me paw through piles and piles to find a missing mate.
posted by lemon_icing at 11:38 PM on January 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
I can't stand the way jewelry feels on my skin, though I'll put up with it if I'm going on a date. I guess I want people to see me as the kind of person who wears jewelry even though I don't? I had a medical necklace back when my allergic reactions were about to kill me, but then I had an allergic reaction to that and had to stop wearing it. Gotta love irony!
(I now have a list of the medications I'm allergic to listed in my phone's emergency information.)
posted by mollywas at 11:44 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
(I now have a list of the medications I'm allergic to listed in my phone's emergency information.)
posted by mollywas at 11:44 PM on January 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
I used to wear necklaces, mostly ones with Judaic imagery, when I was a teen and still a mostly observant Jew. One necklace had a habit of getting torn off or having the chain break at bad times, like in a mosh pit or playing no-pads tackle football in foot deep grass. Every single time it came off, though, I always got it back, either someone bringing it up to me and asking if it was mine, or managing to find it on my own. I canāt remember what it said on it, but it was something I liked.
Another I wore was a Star of David, where the center was cut open and the inner part of the silver star being folded out like petals on to each of the six points.
Mrs. Ghidorah and I have wedding rings, but rings and kitchens donāt go well together. Iām not in the kitchen professionally much anymore, so I wear it to work, but we both take them off when we get home from a day out together. These rings are replacements for our original wedding rings, which were in our rental car while we were snorkeling in Hawaii and said car was stolen. We never got anything back, and the price of platinum had jumped, and we simply couldnāt afford the original style weād gotten. I still like these rings, but the old rings were a stroke of pure luck, just the exact sort of ring Iād always thought of, a matte finish on the outside with a bright polished inset running along the center of the ring. The new rings are the inverse, polished outside, matte inset, and while I donāt feel as strongly about them as I did the first ones, Iām still happy with the simple band style we chose.
posted by Ghidorah at 2:02 AM on January 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Another I wore was a Star of David, where the center was cut open and the inner part of the silver star being folded out like petals on to each of the six points.
Mrs. Ghidorah and I have wedding rings, but rings and kitchens donāt go well together. Iām not in the kitchen professionally much anymore, so I wear it to work, but we both take them off when we get home from a day out together. These rings are replacements for our original wedding rings, which were in our rental car while we were snorkeling in Hawaii and said car was stolen. We never got anything back, and the price of platinum had jumped, and we simply couldnāt afford the original style weād gotten. I still like these rings, but the old rings were a stroke of pure luck, just the exact sort of ring Iād always thought of, a matte finish on the outside with a bright polished inset running along the center of the ring. The new rings are the inverse, polished outside, matte inset, and while I donāt feel as strongly about them as I did the first ones, Iām still happy with the simple band style we chose.
posted by Ghidorah at 2:02 AM on January 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
I have five piercings in one ear, three in the other, and one in my nose, I wear slim silver hoops in all of them most of the time as they are light and unobtrusive so I can shower and sleep in them. I wear 2 rings on each ring finger with a watch and bracelet when I leave my house, I think it stems from a former life as a chef where I couldnāt wear jewellery!
posted by ellieBOA at 2:52 AM on January 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 2:52 AM on January 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
I wear a titanium ring and my partner wears the same one. We got them more than ten years ago. They're beautiful, simple and sturdy. They look like this. Sometimes I touch my ring to his so they can sync data. Gotta stay connected!
In recent years I've started wearing a bit more jewelry. Before that, it was just my ring and usually one simple silver earring. Now I often wear necklaces. I've made most of them myself. I make jewelry from things like circuit board, electronic components, resin and glass. My favourite at the moment is a circuit board hei matau (fish hook) that I've covered with epoxy resin on both sides. It's the middle one in the bottom row in this picture.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:12 AM on January 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
In recent years I've started wearing a bit more jewelry. Before that, it was just my ring and usually one simple silver earring. Now I often wear necklaces. I've made most of them myself. I make jewelry from things like circuit board, electronic components, resin and glass. My favourite at the moment is a circuit board hei matau (fish hook) that I've covered with epoxy resin on both sides. It's the middle one in the bottom row in this picture.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:12 AM on January 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
I love the idea of jewelry, but I donāt wear it as often as Iād like. I have a metal sensitivity (nickel allergy + something else) that makes earrings difficult. I also feel self-conscious about wearing bracelets if I havenāt had my nails done.
I do love a good novelty brooch. My favorite brand is Erstwilder, who started out making weird and wonderful wildlife brooches. Their recent Art Deco collection was a delight, and their Sesame Street line made me really happy. I know a lot of people from outside the vintage repro scene think theyāre tacky, but the bright shot of color and fun designs look nice on my sweaters.
posted by pxe2000 at 4:06 AM on January 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
I do love a good novelty brooch. My favorite brand is Erstwilder, who started out making weird and wonderful wildlife brooches. Their recent Art Deco collection was a delight, and their Sesame Street line made me really happy. I know a lot of people from outside the vintage repro scene think theyāre tacky, but the bright shot of color and fun designs look nice on my sweaters.
posted by pxe2000 at 4:06 AM on January 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
My husband got me vintage enamel pelican earrings for Christmas, and I love them so much. I want more. I've decided I am a Fun Earring person, especially animals.
I actually have two wedding rings - one silver with orange enamel inside, to match my husband's (which is blue inside. We're big portal nerds). I also having a wooden one I wear when I'm using my hands, so I'm not at risk of scratching anything. I move a lot of furniture day to day and wouldn't want to do it with a metal ring on.
posted by stillnocturnal at 4:18 AM on January 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
I actually have two wedding rings - one silver with orange enamel inside, to match my husband's (which is blue inside. We're big portal nerds). I also having a wooden one I wear when I'm using my hands, so I'm not at risk of scratching anything. I move a lot of furniture day to day and wouldn't want to do it with a metal ring on.
posted by stillnocturnal at 4:18 AM on January 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Just a 9k gold wedding ring, and it's a good job I'm staying married because it won't come off (if I drop another ten pounds or so, it might). I didn't want an engagement ring, but my husband wanted to do the buying-jewellery thing, so I did drop a very heavy hint that I liked opals. So I have a nice opal pendant and earring set, bought as a wedding present, which I wear on special occasions. I very rarely remember to wear jewellery otherwise, though I do have pierced ears.
posted by altolinguistic at 4:28 AM on January 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by altolinguistic at 4:28 AM on January 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I cannot stand to wear jewelry. It feels annoying and foreign. It took me quite a few years just to get accustomed to my wedding band, but I still would fiddle with it.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:04 AM on January 5, 2020
posted by Thorzdad at 6:04 AM on January 5, 2020
I also don't like wearing jewelry and I occasionally work with machines that make rings dangerous so I got my wedding ring as a tattoo.
I have considered this. I'm never going to be a wedding ring wearer (for both safety and aesthetic reasons), but I've seen some very nice ring tattoos.
My partner has some very nice (as in beautiful, not expensive) pieces that she wears sometimes, but not day to day.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:42 AM on January 5, 2020
I have considered this. I'm never going to be a wedding ring wearer (for both safety and aesthetic reasons), but I've seen some very nice ring tattoos.
My partner has some very nice (as in beautiful, not expensive) pieces that she wears sometimes, but not day to day.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:42 AM on January 5, 2020
I wear mostly silver although both my wedding ring and my engagement ring are white gold. I realised recently that I rarely wear anything that isnāt my effectively permanent stuff - I might switch earrings out but I rarely wear a different necklace or rings. I have sentimental stuff from family but none of that is worn or can be worn - my grandmother's wedding ring for example is tiiiiiiiiiiiny.
The āpermanentā stuff:
1) my wedding and engagement rings - both were secondhand as Brighton has a lot of jewellers that do vintage etc. My wedding ring is a flat band (I actually chose a D band but after they were resized, my husband found mine more comfortable so we switched pre-wedding.), my engagement ring is a thin band with tiny diamond chips set flat in so I donāt catch it on anything.
2) a silver rounded band (not quite a D band) on my right hand that Iāve worn for about twenty years.
3) a thin silver chain that has a tiny replica of the moon in Brighton on my wedding day (date on the back) and a circle I made out of silver clay that has our initials on it.
4) one lip ring which is a small gauge captive ball
5) second set of ear piercings is small silver studs and the first set is either another set of the small silver studs or currently, a pair of turquoise ball studs. There's a matching necklace that I sometimes wear too.
6) a silver wristwatch
I also wear a Fitbit but if I have to replace it, Iāll have to think about that as I donāt think they do any non-watch ones now. Shall have to see. I rarely take any of the above off, aside from the watch.
posted by halcyonday at 8:23 AM on January 5, 2020
The āpermanentā stuff:
1) my wedding and engagement rings - both were secondhand as Brighton has a lot of jewellers that do vintage etc. My wedding ring is a flat band (I actually chose a D band but after they were resized, my husband found mine more comfortable so we switched pre-wedding.), my engagement ring is a thin band with tiny diamond chips set flat in so I donāt catch it on anything.
2) a silver rounded band (not quite a D band) on my right hand that Iāve worn for about twenty years.
3) a thin silver chain that has a tiny replica of the moon in Brighton on my wedding day (date on the back) and a circle I made out of silver clay that has our initials on it.
4) one lip ring which is a small gauge captive ball
5) second set of ear piercings is small silver studs and the first set is either another set of the small silver studs or currently, a pair of turquoise ball studs. There's a matching necklace that I sometimes wear too.
6) a silver wristwatch
I also wear a Fitbit but if I have to replace it, Iāll have to think about that as I donāt think they do any non-watch ones now. Shall have to see. I rarely take any of the above off, aside from the watch.
posted by halcyonday at 8:23 AM on January 5, 2020
My husband doesn't have/wear a wedding ring. Because he doesn't love me. (No, I'm joking of course!) My dad and both grandfathers never wore them, so growing up I always thought wedding rings were more of a thing women wore, and were optional for men. So when we got married, and the topic came up of whether or not to get him a ring, he was basically like meh, I don't really want one. So he doesn't have one. I have no real sense of how uncommon this is today in the US, but it feels 100% normal to me.
posted by gueneverey at 9:06 AM on January 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by gueneverey at 9:06 AM on January 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I love wearing jewelry - itās a fun, simple way to express my mood and creativity. I wear my white gold wedding ring with lovely Canadian diamonds every day. Earrings and necklaces are selected based on my outfit and mood, although I almost always wear leather teardrop earrings and a long necklace with a pendant. Mr. Wasp gave me a gorgeous wrap bracelet from Swarovski a couple of years ago and I wear it whenever Iām having a tough morning or know I will have a challenging day - I pretend Iām Wonder Woman and all of my powers are channeled through my sparkling, magical wrist cuff. It really works!
posted by WaspEnterprises at 10:28 AM on January 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by WaspEnterprises at 10:28 AM on January 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I love jewelry, though I do not wear very much. Mostly earrings, an occasional necklace, don't really like bracelets. I have made sterling silver jewelry as a hobby on and off for a very long time as well, though nothing very recently.
On our 10th anniversary, my partner bought me a very nice white gold ring with small channel set diamonds and I have worn it every day for almost 18 years, even just took it off and put it back on during the ceremony when we officially got married 5 years ago. (that's 28 years we have been together this year!) But this year I have lost a significant amount of weight and the ring is too large to wear so I put it away for safekeeping, hoping to resize it when I have reached my goal. So for two months I have not worn a ring and it was really odd to not wear something that had been on my hand for so long. So I went to James Avery and bought a really simple nice silver band with a vintage look and will wear this until I get my other ring resized.
posted by blacktshirtandjeans at 10:28 AM on January 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
On our 10th anniversary, my partner bought me a very nice white gold ring with small channel set diamonds and I have worn it every day for almost 18 years, even just took it off and put it back on during the ceremony when we officially got married 5 years ago. (that's 28 years we have been together this year!) But this year I have lost a significant amount of weight and the ring is too large to wear so I put it away for safekeeping, hoping to resize it when I have reached my goal. So for two months I have not worn a ring and it was really odd to not wear something that had been on my hand for so long. So I went to James Avery and bought a really simple nice silver band with a vintage look and will wear this until I get my other ring resized.
posted by blacktshirtandjeans at 10:28 AM on January 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I wear silver exclusively. I think it looks better on me. I was born in October, so my birthstone is opal. I love opals. I have two different charms I wear on my necklace. One is an opal butterfly, the other is an opal snowflake. I got a cat paw charm for Christmas so I'll add that into my rotation. I also wear a band with opals and white sapphires. I also have another opal ring I got for Christmas last year that I only wear to church or other dress up occasions.
The one thing I treasure the most, but don't wear is a necklace with a charm made from my mother's mother ring.
posted by kathrynm at 11:00 AM on January 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
The one thing I treasure the most, but don't wear is a necklace with a charm made from my mother's mother ring.
posted by kathrynm at 11:00 AM on January 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Like many Indian families, my family, particularly my mom's side, was and is really keen on jewelry, particularly gold jewelry. My grandmother's favorite pastime was to take an old piece of jewelry to the jeweler and get it refashioned in some new, modern style. Gems from one piece of jewelry would be combined with gold from another piece and be reborn as something entirely different. Since she was generally supplying the materials, the jewelers would charge only "making charges" and "wastage", an agreed upon amount of gold that would be lost during the making process. My grandmother and mother stored their jewelry in velvet boxes. As a child, I particularly loved the earring boxes, with rows of earrings, each in their little compartment.
As a teenager and young adult I went through a phase where I thought gold jewelry was not cool and would only wear silver. I also wore much less jewelry than my grandmother would have liked, who considered an outfit incomplete unless you were also wearing earrings, bangles and necklace, preferably all matching. For a long long time I wore only fairly cheap, chunky silver jewelry and stone pendants on black cords.
When I moved to the US my grandfather, despite my protests, insisted on buying me a diamond and gold ring. I was extremely prone to losing things in those days, and somewhere in the various grad school apartment moves, I lost the ring. I couldn't bear to tell my grandparents that I'd lost the ring, so I had to come up with more and more convoluted excuses for why I didn't bring the ring with me on my trips to India.
They probably knew what had happened though and when I got married, they offered to pay for our wedding rings. This I was very happy for them to do and I love looking down at my hand with the simple gold band on it and thinking of my grandparents.
posted by peacheater at 2:09 PM on January 5, 2020 [9 favorites]
As a teenager and young adult I went through a phase where I thought gold jewelry was not cool and would only wear silver. I also wore much less jewelry than my grandmother would have liked, who considered an outfit incomplete unless you were also wearing earrings, bangles and necklace, preferably all matching. For a long long time I wore only fairly cheap, chunky silver jewelry and stone pendants on black cords.
When I moved to the US my grandfather, despite my protests, insisted on buying me a diamond and gold ring. I was extremely prone to losing things in those days, and somewhere in the various grad school apartment moves, I lost the ring. I couldn't bear to tell my grandparents that I'd lost the ring, so I had to come up with more and more convoluted excuses for why I didn't bring the ring with me on my trips to India.
They probably knew what had happened though and when I got married, they offered to pay for our wedding rings. This I was very happy for them to do and I love looking down at my hand with the simple gold band on it and thinking of my grandparents.
posted by peacheater at 2:09 PM on January 5, 2020 [9 favorites]
I never wear jewelry (except Fitbit), yet years ago I used to sell it at a nice department store. I was surprised by how many men would buy the same pieces for their wife and their girlfriend. We used to give a discount for buying a certain amount, and I still remember the dude who heard that and said happily, "And they say cheaters never win."
posted by betweenthebars at 2:26 PM on January 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by betweenthebars at 2:26 PM on January 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
A simple steel band as a wedding-ish ring (not really, but it fills the same space).
I (male, 49 in a fairly conservative country) used to have a left ear piercing, but I form keloids and it got complicated, have had it operated on twice, used a bunch of treatments, etc., now I'm happy my ear is just slightly disfigured and not grossly deformed. Still miss being able to wear real earrings.
posted by signal at 4:39 PM on January 5, 2020
I (male, 49 in a fairly conservative country) used to have a left ear piercing, but I form keloids and it got complicated, have had it operated on twice, used a bunch of treatments, etc., now I'm happy my ear is just slightly disfigured and not grossly deformed. Still miss being able to wear real earrings.
posted by signal at 4:39 PM on January 5, 2020
I love jewelry. It's very big in my family; my mom used to make it and my sisters and cousins are often swapping pieces inherited from other family members. Most of them are not investment grade; if I had any really valuable stones I would have sold them or passed them on by now rather than worry about losing them or have the headache of insuring them.
Despite having a lot of jewelry already, we often buy it and give it to each other as gifts. The piece I'm in love with now is a pendant from Alice Makes Knives which my sister found. Even if I were filthy rich I would not spend money on clothes; inevitably they wear out or moths eat them or your size changes. Jewelry you can wear thousands of times.
posted by BibiRose at 6:19 AM on January 6, 2020
Despite having a lot of jewelry already, we often buy it and give it to each other as gifts. The piece I'm in love with now is a pendant from Alice Makes Knives which my sister found. Even if I were filthy rich I would not spend money on clothes; inevitably they wear out or moths eat them or your size changes. Jewelry you can wear thousands of times.
posted by BibiRose at 6:19 AM on January 6, 2020
Aside from my Apple Watch, I wear three pieces of jewelry regularly:
* a green leather bracelet with my sobriety date embossed on the inside as a daily reminder
* a chain maille bracelet
* a necklace of some kind.
The bracelets are a relatively new thing, started in the last couple of years, but I've been wearing various necklaces since I was a kid and found a silver starship Enterprise pendant at the Federation Trading Post in NYC. Currently, it's also chain maille, a Byzantine weave choker.
For a while I was also wearing a leather cuff with lacing running across it. Between the chain maille and the different leather textures, I had lots of things to touch when I doing the classic "5-4-3-2-1" grounding exercise.
posted by hanov3r at 12:30 PM on January 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
* a green leather bracelet with my sobriety date embossed on the inside as a daily reminder
* a chain maille bracelet
* a necklace of some kind.
The bracelets are a relatively new thing, started in the last couple of years, but I've been wearing various necklaces since I was a kid and found a silver starship Enterprise pendant at the Federation Trading Post in NYC. Currently, it's also chain maille, a Byzantine weave choker.
For a while I was also wearing a leather cuff with lacing running across it. Between the chain maille and the different leather textures, I had lots of things to touch when I doing the classic "5-4-3-2-1" grounding exercise.
posted by hanov3r at 12:30 PM on January 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
I spent the last year acquiring and wearing a collection of slim, minimal, modern-looking jewelry pieces and then had a complete and utter change of heart about my entire life, so now I'm just finding things with snakes and skulls and spikes on them and buying them with reckless abandon.
do recommend.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 12:34 PM on January 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
do recommend.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 12:34 PM on January 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
I love metals and rocks and color and beautiful design. The smallest, most efficient way to collect such things is to own jewelry, and I have a lot of it. Most of mine has been inherited or received as gifts. Some is fun, some is stunning. I enjoy wearing, cleaning and polishing, and sometimes just looking at it.
There is a wall rack of earrings, each pair full of memories. Small drawers full of bracelets, chains, pendants. And rings, hands full of rings.
One bold ring contains a tektite, which is a glassy object created by the impact of a meteor. Wearing it thrills me as I did a book report on tektites in 1965. Another has a beautiful fire agate, an extraordinary stone which glows like an opal; I made the setting during a summer class in 1973 and it still fits my hand. The teacher didnāt want to sell me that stone as he was keeping it for himself.
There is a sculptural one-of-a-kind ring wherein sterling silver seahorses flank a moss agate whose patterns mimic seaweedāit was designed and made by my mother in the 1930s. Iāve a diamond solitaire purchased by my aunt in the 1960s as a consolation prize after she gave up on getting married, and a stunning emerald-and-diamond Edwardian pinkie ring once worn by my great-aunt, a beauty who once went on a date with Flo Ziegfeld.
Heck, Iāve barely touched rings... there is so much more.
My favorite piece (other than my wedding ring, which I designed using mine-cut diamonds from a family engagement ring) is an octagonal pendant which floats on a chain, with a large central diamond (flawed but bright) surrounded by rubies; this was once a stick-pin favored in his youth by my grandfather, a bitter man who mocked my childhood awkwardness (I was born with a pelvic deformity) by walking behind me quacking like a duck. It is a beautiful thing which draws the eye and was the first thing I wore after having a hip replacementāin your eye, Grandpa.
I have opals, many given as birthstone gifts, nothing extravagant but some beautiful stones whose color play is as entertaining as a movie. There are functional kaleidoscopes, pieces made of glass, wood and 3D plastic printing, butterfly wings and earrings made of mercury-head dimes which I carefully filed into profiles as a nine-year-old.
The entire collection could, if needed, be thrown into a box and quickly transportedānot the case with my houseful of marine antiques, photography books and original artwork.
So put me in Team Jewelry. As I type right now Iām wearing an art deco platinum and diamond ring with an astonishing play of light, purchased by my aunt the schoolteacher in 1962 because she āwanted something to sparkle on my hand while I write on the blackboard.ā Years ago I wore it as a kind of charm while chain-sawing firewood alone in a remote forest.
Being the final member of two families that will go extinct after me has made me the repository of much family stuff, of which jewelry is the most practical to keep. My personal style is not extravagant, but I enjoy pairing beautiful accessories with my entirely pedestrian wardrobe.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:14 AM on January 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
There is a wall rack of earrings, each pair full of memories. Small drawers full of bracelets, chains, pendants. And rings, hands full of rings.
One bold ring contains a tektite, which is a glassy object created by the impact of a meteor. Wearing it thrills me as I did a book report on tektites in 1965. Another has a beautiful fire agate, an extraordinary stone which glows like an opal; I made the setting during a summer class in 1973 and it still fits my hand. The teacher didnāt want to sell me that stone as he was keeping it for himself.
There is a sculptural one-of-a-kind ring wherein sterling silver seahorses flank a moss agate whose patterns mimic seaweedāit was designed and made by my mother in the 1930s. Iāve a diamond solitaire purchased by my aunt in the 1960s as a consolation prize after she gave up on getting married, and a stunning emerald-and-diamond Edwardian pinkie ring once worn by my great-aunt, a beauty who once went on a date with Flo Ziegfeld.
Heck, Iāve barely touched rings... there is so much more.
My favorite piece (other than my wedding ring, which I designed using mine-cut diamonds from a family engagement ring) is an octagonal pendant which floats on a chain, with a large central diamond (flawed but bright) surrounded by rubies; this was once a stick-pin favored in his youth by my grandfather, a bitter man who mocked my childhood awkwardness (I was born with a pelvic deformity) by walking behind me quacking like a duck. It is a beautiful thing which draws the eye and was the first thing I wore after having a hip replacementāin your eye, Grandpa.
I have opals, many given as birthstone gifts, nothing extravagant but some beautiful stones whose color play is as entertaining as a movie. There are functional kaleidoscopes, pieces made of glass, wood and 3D plastic printing, butterfly wings and earrings made of mercury-head dimes which I carefully filed into profiles as a nine-year-old.
The entire collection could, if needed, be thrown into a box and quickly transportedānot the case with my houseful of marine antiques, photography books and original artwork.
So put me in Team Jewelry. As I type right now Iām wearing an art deco platinum and diamond ring with an astonishing play of light, purchased by my aunt the schoolteacher in 1962 because she āwanted something to sparkle on my hand while I write on the blackboard.ā Years ago I wore it as a kind of charm while chain-sawing firewood alone in a remote forest.
Being the final member of two families that will go extinct after me has made me the repository of much family stuff, of which jewelry is the most practical to keep. My personal style is not extravagant, but I enjoy pairing beautiful accessories with my entirely pedestrian wardrobe.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:14 AM on January 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
Count me as "likes jewellery". I've clicked on so many people's links and photos from this thread. You all have beautiful things. One of the things I like best about jewellery is how it can be a tiny vessel for story, from the One Ring on down.
(And here I've got to stop and remember my good friend Robert, an amazing baritone who died too young. He was buried by musicians who loved him, and on his coffin they laid the Ring whose maker, Alberich, he'd often played. It was a gold sparkly Ā£5 job from Claire's Accessories whose main virtue was being big enough to be seen from the stage. "Not der Ring des Wotans," he used to say; "not der Ring des BrĆ¼nnhildes, and sure as hell not der Ring des Siegfrieds! Der Ring des fucking Nibelungen!" In death, the Nibelung won the argument and the Ring is his, now, for eternity.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 2:36 PM on January 9, 2020
(And here I've got to stop and remember my good friend Robert, an amazing baritone who died too young. He was buried by musicians who loved him, and on his coffin they laid the Ring whose maker, Alberich, he'd often played. It was a gold sparkly Ā£5 job from Claire's Accessories whose main virtue was being big enough to be seen from the stage. "Not der Ring des Wotans," he used to say; "not der Ring des BrĆ¼nnhildes, and sure as hell not der Ring des Siegfrieds! Der Ring des fucking Nibelungen!" In death, the Nibelung won the argument and the Ring is his, now, for eternity.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 2:36 PM on January 9, 2020
« Older Australian Mefites and the bushfires | š„ Week 1 Results of the January 2020 Best Post... Newer »
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:39 PM on January 4, 2020 [8 favorites]