Buddhists say that we shouldn’t be too attached to our material possessions, and to a certain extent I agree. However, there are certain dresses, pieces of jewelry or other accessories that we don’t merely love; there is a memory associated with them that comes back each time we look at or wear the item in question. Jewelry is the most obvious of these—we have wedding rings, pieces inherited from loved ones or given as gifts to commemorate extra special occasions.
For me, my favourite piece of jewelry is a charm bracelet I bought last spring in Amsterdam (a little jaunt I took after my first ever business trip) while wandering around the city on my first solo vacation. It’s vintage, from the 1920s as I was told by the shop owner, and has large dark golden links (for the price I paid for it, I’m pretty sure it’s not real gold). Flowers are carved into marble-sized chunks of semiprecious stones in a variety of colors and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
Sure, I love this bracelet for its unique qualities, but even more than that this bracelet reminds me of the first vacation I paid for myself since graduating from college. I booked my ticket, accommodations, made plans, and explored a foreign city entirely on my own—it’s a symbol of my independence and adulthood. So, how about you? What is your most prized piece of jewelry, clothing etc, and what’s the story behind it?
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A vintage Chanel jacket my grandma gave me when I turned 16. I rarely wear it because I cannot get over the fear that someone will spill something on it. It’s a little ocd, but I just cannot seem to be able to do it.
A tiny Tiffany’s pendant I got as a gift from a man I actually though I might spend the rest of my life with. The relationship didn’t work out after all, but I’m still deeply attached to the pendant and wear it on a regular basis.
A small gold ring that’s been in my family for a few generations. I used to wear it constantly but cannot do so because my fingers got too thin for it- so I’m now considering putting it on a chain and wearing it around my neck.
A pair of silver earrings I bough myself in India after having trekked and climbed in the Himalayas for a month. Wearing them right now actually.
A long,blue skirt I bought in Havana to wear to a nice restaurant. I was backpacking at the time, so I had absolutely nothing to wear for a dressy evening and just bought that skirt, put it on in the store, and went straight to dinner….while still carrying a huge, muddy backpack. I haven’t worn it much since then but I cannot let it go either.
…and there are probably a few other things that I cannot think about right now…
However, not that it would come as any surprise.. can’t let go of my babies “firsts” (first clothes, first shoes etc). Easy to understand, I believe
A vintage ring I found at an antique market. It’s a chunky, bright, art-deco-style ring. The saleswoman said it was carved from a piano key during the Depression, when most people couldn’t afford to buy new jewelry.
Actually, I don’t think I own a single piece of new jewelry that I bought for myself. All the jewelry I own is either a gift from someone, passed down from a relative, or unearthed at an antique market or garage sale. That’s the way jewelry should be, I think: sentimental.
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