A jewel is an ornament made of silver , gold or another precious metal , which often includes stones or pearls. The term comes from the Old French joie .
Jewelry is ornamental elements used on the body. Rings , earrings or necklaces are some of the most used jewelry.
It is important to keep in mind that, for one of these accessories to be considered a jewel, it must stand out for the value of its materials and its quality. This means that not all rings are jewelry: when the piece is made with non-precious metals or other materials, it is a bijouterie or costume jewelry product.
The art of making jewelry and the store dedicated to its marketing are called jewelry . Whoever produces or sells jewelry, meanwhile, is called a jeweler .
Jewelry is worn by women and men. There are those who carry them only for an aesthetic reason , while in other cases these objects have a ritual purpose (as an amulet , to mention one possibility) or hold some type of meaning (memory of a loved one, anniversary of a date, etc. ). There is also functional jewelry (to tie up hair, adjust clothing or another purpose).
Amulets are very precious in certain cultures, and are considered essential accessories to achieve different purposes. The simplest example is one that provides good luck to its wearer; Whether or not it is true, suggestion often makes the person feel protected.
Jewelry is often a status symbol. Whoever wears a ring with a diamond or gold earrings with rubies is showing that they have great purchasing power and that their belongings allow them to position themselves in the upper class.
Although today the barriers between feminine and masculine items are becoming less and less relevant, there are certain issues in which humanity has not yet made enough progress. The world of sports, for example, continues to be associated with men, while that of jewelry, with women. This is not something exclusive nor is it the same in all countries, but it is still normal to see advertisements where football is for boys and jewelry for girls, to promote things such as a brand of beer and Valentine's Day, respectively.
Even in cases where the differentiation is not so profound, there is usually a line of jewelry for women and another for men, just as there is with clothing and even the colors of mobile phones. We have a long way to go until we reach the ideal of society in which everyone dresses and expresses themselves spontaneously, without rules that limit personal tastes.
The term jewel, on the other hand, can be used symbolically to refer to an individual or a thing of great value : “The French striker will be the new jewel of the Madrid team starting next semester,” “This book is a jewel: It is a specimen with more than a hundred years of history” , “I thought your cousin was a gem, but he turned out to be a scammer” .
In these cases, the term jewel not only serves to refer to the symbolic value of a person or thing, but also to the joy that it brings us to have encountered them. It could be said that one of its synonyms in this context is discovery : "This book is a discovery" means that the subject feels very lucky to have this very old copy in their hands, since almost no one on the entire planet has this possibility.