Why Do People Value Jewelry Beyond Its Practical Uses?

[Michael_E]

This has got to be the funniest thread that I've read on this forum yet. I'm having to stop periodically to catch my breath.

The reason for this is that I make jewelry. I used to do do design engineering at an aluminum smelter, but this is a lot more fun. It's actually kind of a cross between engineering and art, since you get to design gem cuts by using CAD programs and then polish them using what amounts to art. It's all in the "touch" . I started by cutting gems...that's still the most fum part of this. It's sort of mesmerizing watching a chunk of expensive gravel turn into an even more expensive, flashing lure, (that's not fishing lure, though some people do use this stuff in a similar manner).

When you ask what's the point, well it has two parts. In my mind, number one is beauty. This stuff can be really beautiful. The sparkle and glimmer of a well cut gem, in a well made setting, is just plain beautiful. I guess that sort of attraction, the appreciation of beauty, is just built into some people. The second part revolves around all of those strange social vagaries that are also built into many people's psyche. It's about money, self image, self importance, social postion and on and on. Your own particular reaction to jewelry can be a mix of these influences and the easy way to tell where you stand, is to watch yourself and see if you spend more time looking at your jewelry or showing and telling other people about it. It's really easy to "get", just head over to a jewelry forum and listen for a while...if you can stand it, (it can drive you nuts after a while).

It's really weird that the things that I've made that I like the best are the facted "eggs" that I've cut from busted up quartz crystals. They sit on the window sill and on a sunny day they just spray the entire room with rainbows.

I've attached a couple of pics of a pink sapphire in a trillion cut and a platinum ring with a similar stone shoe-horned in, under the center stone. Those little devil diamonds on the sides are just under 1mm in diameter and have to be set under a microscope. Making this stuff is a big pile of fun and sure beats the heck out of dealing with the grime and politics of an aluminum smelter !

 

[Cyrus]

Those are very nice. And I agree with you, in appreciating them for their art and craftsman ship, but not to go around wearing. I think it should be something people can enjoy in a museum. I do like the math they use to find the best geometries to cut the rocks. I saw it on pbs, it was really cool.

 

[Moonbear]

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.

Yes, if you give women something practical for the kitchen or for cleaning (unless she has specifically asked for it), she will find a way to make it more entertaining by beating you with it.

Though, in reality, I'd rather get the practical gifts...but practical means I have to actually need it or want it, not just that it has a use. So, pass on the new, fancier vacuum cleaner if the one I have works just fine, but I sure could use a nice set of patio furniture or a new grill come spring time, or my cookie sheets are getting a little sad looking and could be replaced...that sort of thing.

 

[Moonbear]

It's really weird that the things that I've made that I like the best are the facted "eggs" that I've cut from busted up quartz crystals. They sit on the window sill and on a sunny day they just spray the entire room with rainbows.

Now that is something I would really enjoy!

 

[tribdog]

Though, in reality, I'd rather get the practical gifts...but practical means I have to actually need it or want it, not just that it has a use

really? How practical are Legos? And how did you feel when you opened up that package?

 

[Moonbear]

really? How practical are Legos? And how did you feel when you opened up that package?

They were very practical! They provided for hours and hours of stress-relieving activity. They certainly weren't jewelry.

Okay, those fall in the category of completely unexpected, and thoughtful, and something to show you're actually paying attention to the woman, not just buying some baubles to show off how rich you are.

 

[tribdog]

Okay, those fall in the category of completely unexpected, and thoughtful, and something to show you're actually paying attention to the woman, not just buying some baubles to show off how rich you are.

really? I thought it was just an attempt at getting laid.

 

[Evo]

This has got to be the funniest thread that I've read on this forum yet. I'm having to stop periodically to catch my breath.

Welcome to PF Michael_E!

Making jewelry sounds like fun, and rewarding as far as art goes. I personally like jewelry too much. The colors, the sparkle. :!)

That pink saphire is really pretty.

 

[tribdog]

no you can't have it

 

[Michael_E]

Thanks Evo,
This is a neat forum. A really good place to keep quite, listen (or read),and pick up some great links to technical sites and papers.

Jewelry for me is a way to make a living making things, and not so much art. I don't try to ascribe some significance to what I do, other than try to make it "beautiful". It's more like craft, (of course using optics, mechanics and intuition to try new things). To tell you the truth, I agree with many that jewelry is not practical in the sense that you can't use it as a tool or to gain information. But it is practical in developing an emotional response, as art does, and that alone makes it worth doing as it makes a person more balanced in their views.

For me it's really a toss up what to do with my limited resources. On one hand there are gem crystals to buy and on the other there are always new tools to acquire. I'm trying to justify a dividing head for my milling machine now. It's practical, but I don't need it. Anybody think of a good reason to have something I don't really need ? I'm sure that I'll think of something, but every bit of ammunition that I can muster helps !

cyrusabdollahi,
The math to do the cutting has been encapsulated in several really good programs that take care of all the details for you in a graphical manner. The really cool part is that you can import and export all of the models into and out of numerous other programs and do some really neat things with modeling. This applies to way more than jewelry. I personally use Rhino3D to model this stuff, as well as machinery. If you're into making things, this is a great time to be alive. There are so many resources on the 'net and elsewhere that it just amazes me.