What an interesting question! I’ve never thought about it before. I’m sure anything I say right now will have been said before but I’ll give it a shot.
I have always loved jewellery on a personal level, I inherited that love from my mother. To me jewellery is wearable art and elegance. It elevates whatever you wear - I tend to wear a lot of neutrals and inexpensive clothes in everyday life and I think jewellery adds a very elegant touch. Silk scarves fall in the same niche, only that jewellery is sparkly and of course makes me look more expensive and well put together.
Today I am wearing a watch I received as a gift from my parents, a bracelet that belonged to my grandmother, and a pair of earrings I bought for myself to commemorate a special occasion. I think that also brings to light some reasons why I love jewellery, it’s a way of carrying my favourite people and memories with me wherever I go!
I am indian, and in my culture jewellery - lots of it and big pieces - is very important. Whenever I get married, I know I’ll be bedecked in a way that in the west would be considered well over the top and gaudy. But for me, it’s also a cultural thing. And the pieces I wear then are heirlooms, that belonged to my ancestors and will be passed down to my children and grandchildren. In that sense, I am the custodian and the wearer of history. It makes me feel special.
And finally, and this goes hand in hand with my earlier point about wearable luxury - it is my rainy day fund. Of course jewellery loses value the second you buy it, but for many of my pieces I know I can recoup 85-95% of the value that was originally paid, either by virtue of time or because of guarantees provided by the jeweller, the brand name or the value of the materials. I never plan to sell, but life happens, and it’s good to know that it will hold its value to an extent in a way cars and clothes never will.
In a nutshell: it makes me happy to look at and to wear and to know that I possess it
