Why Do We Need Jewelry? a Psycho-anthropological Perspective

example, and how a December-born child may develop a life-long attachment to turquoise for no reasons other than the accident of birth.

We become animistic with our jewelry; it is difficult not to derive from it a personality, a soul. The personality of the stone becomes a point of self-identification. If ruby symbolizes passion, if amethyst symbolizes sobriety, then we may feel these characteristics asserted in ourselves by wearing them. And as such we have the reinforcement of esteem, of ego.

To become and individual we must stand out from the herd. The rarer the jewel we possess, the more unique we are. The less common a jewel the more appeal it has to humans. Indeed, for a jewel to be valuable it only needs to be perceived as rare.

A good example is diamond – in essence the same as the graphite in a pencil – which is not so much rare as it is tightly regulated by the diamond industry. In terms of base shows of wealth, jewelry is something that monarchs, pharaohs, empresses and emperors could occupy themselves with.

An assertion of their wealth and of their status. As the living standards of the average person in many societies have improved that there is less worry of food and shelter – i.e., the physiological needs – people find themselves, like kings, seeking out jewelry as a sign of status.

But why jewelry? Why do we feel an affinity for pretty stones and metals? For jewelry to be so universally coveted it must possess inherent value. If it is naturally beautiful, then the need for jewelry is synonymous with a need for nature’s beauty. Otherwise why would a lab-created diamond, all things being equal, be less valuable than a

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