Why Do People Value Jewelry Beyond Its Practical Uses?

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The discussion revolves around the perceived value and purpose of jewelry, particularly in the context of social status and attraction. Participants question whether expensive jewelry is merely a status symbol for the wealthy, suggesting that its primary appeal may lie in its ability to impress others and enhance romantic prospects. Anecdotes illustrate how some individuals associate jewelry with romantic gestures, while others express skepticism about its necessity and value. The conversation touches on personal preferences for jewelry styles, with some favoring simple, meaningful pieces over extravagant designs. There is also a debate about the appropriateness of gifting jewelry, with opinions divided on whether such gifts are genuine expressions of affection or superficial displays of wealth. Ultimately, the discussion highlights the complex relationship between jewelry, personal taste, and societal expectations regarding romance and gifting.
  • #61
cyrusabdollahi said:
Look instead of all that crap Evo, wouldn't it be a better gift to have a nice dinner with your loved ones than some junk that cost a lot of money? I think there are better ways to show your love than buying JUNK JUNK JUNK JUNK JUNK! Showing somone you care about them is a personal thing that no gift can replace. A modest gift is nice, an expensive gift is just pathetic.
I have always asked for cheap, practical gifts, I never got any. :frown:
 
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  • #62
yeah, its a wicked bummer when you actually ask and don't get it. especially when you're not being unreasonable. I've wanted ballet slippers for the last 3 years... ok ok... so they're not practical, but i'd use them! and they're not expensive. no one takes me seriously though, makes me sad.
 
  • #63
Why does it bother you though (gale and evo)? I wish I never got a single gift for the rest of my life. All I want is a phone call to say I was thinking about you so I called. Thats it, I am happy.
 
  • #64
for me its like, a card or like a nice thoughtful gift (or ballet slippers) would just be really sweet, and i'd really like it. so, if a guy cares about me, and he knows this... why wouldn't he buy me a gift? its just nice, and why shouldn't my guy be nice? sure, there's loads of other things he could do, but if maybe i just wanted to unwrap something, or be surprised, i'd hope that he'd care enough to endulge me even if it seems silly.
 
  • #65
Yeah a modest gift, but not a couple thousand a year on gifts!
 
  • #66
cyrusabdollahi said:
Why does it bother you though (gale and evo)? I wish I never got a single gift for the rest of my life. All I want is a phone call to say I was thinking about you so I called. Thats it, I am happy.
I NEEDED kneesocks. I held off buying kneesocks because I thought I was getting some. NOTHING. NO SOCKS!:cry:
 
  • #67
Ill get you some socks. :-)
 
  • #68
cyrusabdollahi said:
Ill get you some socks. :-)
:cry: <snif> :cry: With puppies and kitties on them? <snif> :!)
 
  • #69
How about I send you a puppy and kitty wearing the kneesocks?
 
  • #70
a puppy could cost you a few grand... trying to buy evo?
 
  • #71
puppies are free from the shelter! Thats a nice gift, because you save the puppies life and the puppy will give years of happiness emotionally to the person you give it to. It won't sit in a jewlery box collecting dust and come out once in a blue moon.
 
  • #72
Gale said:
a puppy could cost you a few grand... trying to buy evo?
Yeah, just the socks will do.
 
  • #73
Fine I am keeping the puppies and kittens for myself muahahhahh! See what happens when you give a gift, they complain....
 
  • #74
Did someone mention socks...
 
  • #75
hahahahaha, that's why you don't like to give gifts. you're just not very good at it? practice makes perfect!
 
  • #76
Ok, I will give you some ballet slippers, happy now? Please just be freakin happy with them! (Pulls his hair out)
 
  • #77
i'd love you (in many ways *wink*) if i got some ballet slippers!
 
  • #78
http://www.shellysonline.com/shoes/danshuz/ToeShoe.jpg

How can anyone wear those torture devices? It soooooooo bad for your feet.
 
  • #79
those are point slippers, i don't need point, just regular slippers. regular ballet slippers are just soft and lace up and they're flexible, and pretty and i want some!
 
  • #80
This is why I don't like to give gifts.

http://www.freemotion.com/media/GR2007.jpg


If you don't like these, too bad You just cost me the pair of the pink ones, which I have to now drive back, wait in line, and return. Then look for the white ones, oh they don't have the white ones in your size. So now I have to drive all the way down town to get the white ones, which are twice as expensive as the ones at the normal store. Then I have to drive in rush hour traffic all the way back, and get in a car accident with someone that has no insurance. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Make the insanity stop!
 
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  • #81
haha, those are point too! they're called point because they let you point your toes like that and stand on them, they have hard tips. i don't need that. i just want regular slippers silly. and any color is fine (but the whites kinda nicer!) and if you want i'll even come with you to make sure they're the right size. and when we get home, i'll help you detress with a nice massage by candle light eh?
 
  • #82
I like the way you think.
 
  • #83
balley slippers are stupid, this has been mathematically proven
 
  • #84
Pengwuino said:
balley slippers are stupid, this has been mathematically proven


Ah, the elusive balley slipper, invented in 1803 by Shephard Balley McFlarnmunster.
 
  • #85
tribdog said:
you all are strange. I like diamonds, big diamonds. You aren't supposed to put your hands in your pockets. you aren't supposed to have pockets. I like my women in sexy dresses and sparkley jewelry. You look like a million dollars, so why not wear a million dollars as well.
Fantasy date: sexy slinky dress big diamond necklace for dinner and drink(think Pretty Woman and the red dress scene) , long t shirt to bed. Legs always showing
I don't care what she wears
:smile:

TheStatutoryApe said:
I wouldn't make anything terribely intricate. And if she (or he) won't accept anything that isn't gaudy and from Tiffany's then I'm not marrying her.:devil:
I couldn't afford to marry her. :smile:

I am pretty plain and simple, not fancy - I'll wear a suit and tie (professional responsibility) or casual dress, but I mostly prefer blue jeans, and more preferably cutoff's, T-shirt (sleeveless, with pocket for my mechanical pencil Pilot razorpoint pen), and I go barefoot. I basically prefer to wear a minimal amount of clothes, while being socially acceptable or at least not too offensive, and with minimal restriction on my extremities.

When I was single, I preferred a Spartan life. Nothing fancy. Kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, nice (but simple stereo system), and a dry place for my books. As an older person, I like to have a garden. I think in my last years, I would like a nice cottage (dry place for my books) with a garden and orchard by a stream.

I don't need jewelry, nor do I want any.
 
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  • #86
cyrusabdollahi said:
Look instead of all that crap Evo, wouldn't it be a better gift to have a nice dinner with your loved ones than some junk that cost a lot of money? I think there are better ways to show your love than buying JUNK JUNK JUNK JUNK JUNK! Showing somone you care about them is a personal thing that no gift can replace. A modest gift is nice, an expensive gift is just pathetic.
I don't agree with your delivery here, but the overall message I definitely agree with. We covered this in another thread this week...I don't ask for gifts. If someone puts a lot of thought into buying me something I'd like, I don't refuse it, but just giving gifts for the sake of gifts isn't something I like, because, yeah, you get a bunch of junk (ooh, I have so many occassions to wear those socks I got with candy canes and Santa all over them :rolleyes:). Ever notice how when women get engaged, the first thing people say is, "Ooh, let me see the ring!" Is it going to be a bad marriage or show he loves her less if she didn't get a ring, or it has only a small diamond?

But, I have another side to how I view jewelry as gifts too. If it makes a guy happy to buy something pretty for his girlfriend or wife, and he enjoys seeing her wear it, then I don't mind wearing it for him (as long as it isn't completely atrocious). He just shouldn't ever feel obligated, like she's not going to like him if he never buys her jewelry, because that would suggest bigger problems than just a lack of jewelry.

I also look at it as what can you afford? If you're on a tight budget and trying to save up for a new house or much needed car or even to pay for the wedding, then throwing money away on things like jewelry is completely foolish. But, if you have a lot of disposable income, and buying something frivolous isn't even going to make a dent in your budget, then if it's something you like, why not?
 
  • #87
Isn't jewelry kind of like long fingernails? Both prove you can afford to have someone else do any labor that might damage them (or any labor that might snatch your jewelry and carry your finger or ear along with it).

Actually, a little jewelry is nice, but I don't care that much for multiple body piercings (especially on my daughters' boyfriends). If you hold up the line at the airport waiting to get through the metal detectors, then you probably have too much jewelry.

When I refereed, if I noticed a player wearing jewelry, I was supposed to send them off the field to remove it. I always thought it was pretty funny when someone wearing a tongue stud started telling me what a lousy job I was doing. :smile:
 
  • #88
I get it!

It makes them feel worth that much to you, because you're willing to give up that to be nice to them.

...Still, as Evo said, it should be PRACTICAL gifts, like cookware or chemicals for testing various reactions. <_<'
 
  • #89
Blahness said:
I get it!
...Still, as Evo said, it should be PRACTICAL gifts, like cookware or chemicals for testing various reactions. <_<'
No, you don't.

Rule 1: Never give anything that can be used in the kitchen as a gift - those are tools and they kind of belong to the house for common use. (Exception: those are okay as wedding gifts for a couple)

Rule 2: Never give anything that can be used to test your own various reactions (chemicals are only mildly bad - giving your wife an electroejaculator would be much worse).

The practicality should be a side benefit - not the main purpose of the gift.
 
  • #90
Fine.

Well, at least it's not part of my worries for now, I'm only 15. X.x'
 

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