It doesn't stop me from admiring other women with beautiful rings, however. One of my friends refuses to buy "conflict" diamonds and has many beautiful rings that are man-made diamonds. They look perfect. You really can't tell the difference by just looking at them.
In fact, I love the jewelry in the Sundance Catalog, which is made by artisans. Especially those that include spiritual quotes. One of my daughters still wears one that has a sign for "protection". I bought it for her when she was much younger, and I was worried about her driving.
I have found two necklaces at the Farmer's Market, from the same vendor, that I just love. The prices were extremely reasonable for something hand-made, and unique. The one on the right says "trust in your dreams." I like the leather that runs through them. It calls to the latent hippie in me. A side that is becoming more and more pronounced, I might add.
Besides, where else can you have a conversation about your astrology chart, before breakfast, while trying on necklaces and shopping for veggies? (And what is it about me that people wonder what my sign is?)
What about you? Do you like real jewelry, or costume? Artisan or department store? And if you're a man - do you wear jewelry?
44 comments:
Hi Nancy
you are a girl after my own heart. I didn't get engaged either, nor wear an engagement ring. I have a simple Russian wedding ring that I bought for myself after wearing the original wedding ring - made by a friend out of dentist's gold!!! was rather lumpy and amateur, but made with love.
I used to wear hippy earings every day and artisan's necklaces but rarely do these days...
I'd rather buy books than jewellery...(notice how we spell it)
Happy days
Much like you, no engagement ring and my band is a thin band with tiny diamond chips set flush. I inherited after my mother's death -- in fact, I removed it from her finger after she died -- a wide gold band with my grandparents' initials engraved in it and a gorgeous large diamond set into it. The band was my grandfather's wedding ring and after his death in the 1930s my grandmother had the diamond from her ring set into it, and wore it from then on. After her death my mother wore it constantly. I have tried to wear it. It's too large but mainly it's just too wide for my small finger. I don't want to have it sized to fit me because I'd destroy the engraving and I still probably wouldn't wear it.
I like and own a few artisan bracelets, but rarely wear them.
I'm with Delwyn...rather buy books than jewelry.
Speaking as an old hippie ...I wear masses of beads (still) from anywhere ...fake and faux are my friends!
Love dangling earings ..mostly from flea markets ...
Love baubles and colour ...how much it costs matters not a bit.
Hi,
Just took a trip down the page. You have an interesting eclectic blog!
-Jayne
i wear the wedding band. i have a couple other rings i ppull out on occassion but generally keep the bling to a minimum. its all just a pale glimmer compared to who is on my arm anyway. smiles.
I have a wedding set (engagement ring and wedding band welded together after our ceremony) and DH has "upgraded" the diamond a couple of times over the 29 years we've been married. I think it may be about a carat now.
However, that's the only jewelry I wear much anymore. I used to accessorize with necklaces and earrings--getting most of them at Goodwill and garage sales. Now, not so much.
Hi Nancy:
I think Brian has it figured out. The woman IS the jewellery!
My motto has always been less is more. My mother taught me to remove one piece of jewellery before I went out the door - in order to never be over the top.
I do not like the feel of anything around my neck - but do enjoy wearing earrings - and I wear a pretty little garnet ring on my baby finger.
I'll often wear bracelets when I go out.
Choice of bookstore or jewellery store - I'm with the rest of you - bookstore here we come!! It's so much more exciting than baubbles.
I like gemstones, but for their spiritual properties not their pretty faces. I have some emeralds and a Tanzanite in rings. Other gems (not so much jewellery) are stand alones.
My husband and his family are largely the same way. I just bought a lovely chunk of turquoise with cuprite veins that I put under my pillow. Gives me some interesting dreams.
Hi Nancy.
My mum liked gold and diamonds and I did not, never was keen on gold thought it was overated preffered silver but really do not care about so called precious metals.
I find it disgusting that there is so much violence associated with diamonds and gold and other precious metals.
I love colourful jewellry, used to always wear earings, necklace and bracelet.
Did not value things because they were expensive but because I liked them.
Have a good weekend.
Love,
Herrad
I wear earrings, but I only use costume jewelry. I have a gold chain around my neck with a St Christopher's medal that was given to me years ago. I don't wear any rings any more but I have my wedding ring in my jewelry box: silver with om mani padme hum engraved on it.
I do love shiny things and enjoy watching other people sparkle with diamonds, but I agree that too much violence is associated with them. Good post; thanks, I enjoyed it.
I'm not much for personal adornment. don't like gold. Most the jewelry I wear (and only wear it when we are going out, not everyday) is handmade beads...earrings, bracelets, necklaces...made by a friend of mine. I do have a silver link bracelet I wear a lot from a Mayan silversmith in Mexico and a silver cuff bracelet made by a Navaho silversmith with petroglyphs on it. Also a really cool necklace of small bone feathers from bird's of prey (Cherokee, I think). My everyday earrings are diamond studs I inherited from my mother. My wedding ring is a thin platinum band, no engagement ring.
I don't care for jewelry either. The only jewelry I wear are gold hoop earings and my mom's wedding ring. I would rather have a nice vacation than jewelry....
I wear an engagement ring with a diamond my sister had inherited from our grandmother but hadn't set. Don bought it from my sister (only fair) and had it set. I love how it sparkles on my hand, and I love the connection with my sister and my grandmother. It is a rare rose cut and sparkles like crazy. But I would never ever buy a diamond now! Many reasons, mostly the cost.
I love and wear costume jewelry. Some was my mother's. Some my daughter and friend have made and given me as gifts. These are my favorites. I feel I'm wearing their love. I was thrilled when both of them restrung necklaces they had made that had broken. I got them both back within a week of my birthday. Glorious!
Alas I can hardly wear earrings now because I have a bump-cyst thing around my piercing and earrings inflame it. :(
I really like picturing you at the market buying food and necklaces and conversing with vendors.
I love the precious stones,i mean Ruby, Sapphires, Emerald!! i love big ear rings than necklace!!And Diamonds are not my Best friend!!I prefer Gold!
I don't wear gold or diamonds. My "jewelry" consist of
Amber, Ameythyst, Lapis Lazuli (my favorite), Malachite, etc.
I guess I would have to say I like antique or artisan jewelry.
I don't wear rings.... I love to wear silver bangle bracelets though :) and I am still looking for a Sun bracelet, I lost several years ago to a thief. It was a silver bracelet with suns dangling delicately, so pretty. I will find it again some day.
Sometimes I feel like I belong in the jungle because I don't like to wear watches or necklaces or rings...I dunno what it is. But if I were to wear stuff I would want the real thing I guess.
-John
Hi Nancy, thanks for your kind comment on my blog. Germans arent well liked either and when I was young I traveled stating: I am European" , which I am...
However I know what you eman the reputation of the USA has suffered over the last 10 yeras, however I do think you guys try hard to change this. The world wide economic crisis (wow, Lehman Brother happened about one year ago)once again brought us closer.
before I get lost in ramblings. I love amber. Not keen on diamonds however I prefer genuine gold, obviously with amber. I love pearls and many of the semi precious stones. I am actually looking in attending a course of creating jewelery myself. A bit afraid I mess up this expensive material. Have a great weekend.
I have costume earrings in my 2nd holes that rarely get taken off. Other than that, I have a jewelry box full of real and fake that I rarely put on. It would just get dirty in the barn!
You started a survey here. I wear just a plain wedding band. Any jewelry I've received as gifts from hubby I've begun to pass on to my daughter. She has simple taste too. It could be an inhered trait.
Great post Nancy, it's always fun to read through the comments too, one big happy conversation!
I love Sundance too, but it's enough to look through the catalog, i've never bought anything. I agree with everyone, i buy books or experiances instead.
Still...I LOVE jewelry and have a collection(small)that goes back to my highschool days. I love it all, but only keep or wear those pieces that have meaning, my mothers Navajo ring, hawaiian heirloom jewelry, black pearls from Tahiti, copper trade bracelets from Africa, most every piece has a story behind it, even my wedding and engagement rings.
They all make me happy.
☺
I love jewelry. Now that I'm a stay at home mom I don't wear it all very much anymore, but it's there. Most every piece has a lovely memory associated with it. I like to think about passing these pieces down to my children one day, hopefully creating beautiful memories for them.
I started making jewelry because I was tired of spending 3x and typically FAR MORE on jewelry. *Jewelry Store* jewelry is not in our budget and I hate getting a piece that was duplicated a 100 x over again! I love natural stones created by people, and even though I am a passionate artisan jeweler, I LOVE buying other pieces from other people!
I like jewelry, but haven't bought much in my life. I inherited my mother-in-laws, but then we were robbed and now I don't have much and I never want to go through such a loss again so I won't buy more. I will just were some fun costume stuff.
You always have the most thought provoking posts.
I wear an engagement ring (which at my tender age I thought I HAD to have) and my wedding ring. Sometimes a watch. That's it. My geologist husband knows the only value of a stone is the one we put on it. So we value other things more.
Lucky him, I'm just not a bling kind of girl.
hmmmm....well, i'm a sundance jewelry girl, too - and jjill has some neat pieces, too - bottom line - although i've bought pieces at eastern market in dc and at hospital gift shops in louisiana that would compare to sundance or jill - i'm a gypsygirl at heart and wear silver - gave to my children all my diamonds and sapphires etc years ago - wedding and inherited pieces - i wear big silver hoop earrings - funky-clunky style silver rings [usually at least three at a time] - wide funky-clunky silver cuff bracelet and lots of bangles - toe rings also silver - i have several artisan pieces in silver and stones - and a few leather pieces to finish it out - that's about it -
fun post!!!
Diamonds burn into 'a nothing' at a temperature that won't bring harm to glass - only one reason why I prefer latter one.
With regard to wearing jewellery, own a wedding ring and a piercing, because of a looooong story.
A weekend filled with bright light to you.
I don't wear much jewelry. I have a diamond wedding ring that is gathering dust in a drawer because it is such an impractical thing to wear. I much prefer the band my husband gave me later. I can wash the dishes, garden, or play with clay (I am an art teacher) without having to take it off or keep track of it.
I like an understated look and bling just doesn't go with that.
great post - importance to material stuff...
If my marriage ends, I can't wait to sell my diamond - the idea of what it use to mean to me, the person I was is no longer...all in a good way...joys and gifts of recovery.
But here is an amazing spiritual jewelry line as well.
http://www.turchinjewelry.com/
I have worn my wedding set for almost 35 years now......I can no longer get it off. I wear 1/2 carat diamond earrings, just samll studs and that is it. All these pieces were gifts from my husband and the value is priceless....to me, and maybe my girls. He gave me a beautiful diamond solitaire in a platinum setting. It does not fit my lifestyle and would no doubt be damaged by my frequent gardening, so I don't wear it unless I remember to put it on if we go out.
I have worn my wedding set for almost 35 years now......I can no longer get it off. I wear 1/2 carat diamond earrings, just samll studs and that is it. All these pieces were gifts from my husband and the value is priceless....to me, and maybe my girls. He gave me a beautiful diamond solitaire in a platinum setting. It does not fit my lifestyle and would no doubt be damaged by my frequent gardening, so I don't wear it unless I remember to put it on if we go out.
When I was young I eschewed jewelry (interesting word, eschewed... sounds like chewed). Now that I'm older I love artisanal jewelry in a big way. Not that I wear a lot of it, but I love it.
I've never been big on diamonds, so cold, but I do like other gems, though prefer semi-precious to the big-ticket items.
Earrings and necklaces are my favorites.
"My husband was probably relieved when I said I didn't want an engagement ring, that I was happy with a simple gold wedding band."
Ah, a kindred spirit. At the time, I told my husband that I'd rather have a honeymoon than a diamond ring. Have never regretted that. Still love that gold band that reminds me of so much.
hi Nancy!! pls have a look in my blog!! i have something for you!
Oh gosh Nancy, I'm like you. I am not into expensive jewelly at all. In fact I think all I have can fit into a large matchbox! I love handmade local jewellery the best, my favourite necklace is a smiling whale that I got when I went whale watching on Pleasant Bay in Cape Breton. I love costume jewellery too though!
I used to love jewelry... mostly earrings. I had hundreds of costume sets in all colors, shapes and designs. Then, about 5 years ago I developed a weird allergy to non-precious metals and that was that.
I don't care for rings either, because my hands are also very small, but my fingers are kind of chubby. I just don't have those long, lean, graceful looking fingers like the women who wear rings so well.
So now I just wear my wedding ring, and admire the flashy stuff from afar. ;)
I'm with you....rather selective about what I wear.
Funny...I was photographing some jewelry for an artist friend, yesterday, and as I worked another friend kept track of what I was shooting...soon I realized that she wasn't talking much, and turned to find her absolutely mesmerized by the sparkling creations...really, sort of in a trace...funny, and all I saw was reflections...smiles.
I think diamonds are beautiful and on other people I like to see them. On myself I think they look....wrong. Like I am not really up to the task of looking good enough for them, ha ha
I would have liked an engagement ring but oh well, no biggie not to get one. You dont spend your life with a diamond, you spend your life with a husband and better that HE be the diamond than the rock on your finger. :-)
I love love love diamonds. I always wanted a 2 ct solitaire, emerald or marquis cut, and 1ct ea studs. I have neither. My husband thinks the diamond trade is a monopolistic rip off that prospers on the backs of enslaved peoples. It is. sigh. I still like the stones.
Anyway, thanks to my mother, whose best friend was married to a wholesale jeweler, I have lots of nice necklaces and rings and pendants; nothing fancy but all sweet.
Thanks Mom!
I have all kinds of jewelry from diamonds to beads. My favorite is turquoise set in silver, which I've been collecting since college. My 2 carat wedding and engagement ring set, sit in their box waiting for the lucky girl who marries my son.
I like odd jewelry - just bought a pair of earrings made of moldavite, a type of crystal that supposedly came from a meteor that crashed in the Czech Republic millions of years ago. It supposedly helps to raise spiritual awareness. We'll see. At any rate, it's a beautiful green stone.
Was the bracelet one of Jes MaHarry's? I love her work but could never afford it so it's just as well I'm not into jewelry either. I wear a gold cobra ring with a small ruby cowl on the little finger of my right hand. It was given to me by my mother who had a matching one. My wedding ring is a hand cast silver unicorn restante. He's beautiful. My husband wears a sleeping silver cat on his little finger - made by the same artist.
Ah, Nancy..you're talking to the right gal here! I buy and sell antique jewelry from the Victorian through the Deco era. I love the history or the lack of..the wondering who wore this and what was she doing at the time? So fascinating. Most are not gaudy big baubles but extremely well made to transcend time. Personally, I don't wear jewelry..a gold wedding band and that is it! Go figure with all the pieces I have coming and going...I just love to look at them.
Glad blogger finally settled down & I can finally visit blogs I've missed..yours!
BIG RINGS! I love BIG RINGS. Preferably tourqoise!
I'm not a jewelry person at all. Have always been what they used to call a "tom-boy". I had much more fun building forts than painting my nails as a kid. Have a few pieces of costume jewelry for 'dressy" occasions and a few cherished pieces from my Mom (who has passed) including a really cool old pin in the shape of a large spider. Aside from that, you are much more likely to find me spending my money at the hardware store than in the jewelry store. Oh, and, that shoe thing...I REALLY don't get that at all.....
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