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"My Precious"

Alice & Chains Jewelry Blog

| Jewelry with a story |

Why is it that the gleam of a ring, the golden yellow hue of gold, or the deep, reflective colors of a gemstone so captivating? What draws our eye and then captures our hearts about shiny and reflective objects?

Let's go back, way back - like you're a cave-woman. What was reflective? Bodies of water, whether streams, rivers, or lakes their surfaces were, for the longest period of time, the only surfaces in which we experienced reflection. Water - the one thing we look for on other planets as evidence of life. Image thousands of years ago, you are walking barefoot to a stream to collect water for your day and there beneath the water's surface you spy some shimmering object. A gleam brighter than just the sun bouncing off the surface of the water. Reaching into the cold, rushing water you grasp the object - what is it?

Enter stage right, alluvial gold - gold that is naturally found in riverbeds and streams. Think the gold rush of 1849 that thousands of Americans traveled west to participate in, panning rivers to make dreams come true. Gold, as we know now, when mixed with other alloys can obtain another hue other than its namesake. However, what is with the obsession? Let's swing back to the caveman days, what was the center of our universe - physically and metaphorically? The sun - the big, gold star that our earth orbits around, providing day and night, Vitamin D, and boundless nutrients from the soil that only prospers from those golden rays. 

Are you seeing the connection yet? Water = Life. Sun = Life. Anything that our cave-woman found exhibiting those same properties of color, reflection, and shine we coveted, held as precious, and adorned ourselves with.

 

Did you know?

  • Magpies are not attracted to shiny objects. They actually perceive shiny objects to be foreign and fearful. Perhaps this applies to Emu's and Ostriches as well, who are known for lunging at shiny jewelry or objects passersby have.   - Daily Mail
  • Literature featuring shiny object obsessed characters
    1. Lord of the Rings - Hence the title "my precious"
    2. The Necklace - Guy de Maupassant; Coveting neighbors is not good.
    3. Cinderella - I mean really, who looses their glass slippers!
      • Jewelry, pearls, gold, & stones have a history of starting shit:
        1. Piracy - Queen Elizabeth basically allowed pirates to pilfer Spain's ships, as long as they brought the goods back to her
        2. Revolutions - Maria Antoinette and her courts excessive display of wealth brought on the French Revolution
        3. New "worlds" - 'Murica ya'll; Spain's obsession with emeralds
        4. The Wild, Wild West & Football Teams - 1849 gold rush, for which the 49er's football team are named for, brought us California and blue jeans
        5. Economic indicator - Gold prices typically fall when the economy's confidence starts to go low.
      • Wanna learn more??? We highly recommend reading the epic book Stoned, it takes you through the history of greed, wealth, and desire of sparkly things.

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