Jewels and the woman: The romance, magic and art of feminine adornmentOstier, Marianne
History
Jewels and the woman: The romance, magic and art of feminine adornment
Ostier, Marianne
Jewelry
Among current favorites is the charm bracelet. This can be most
attractive, although only a teenage subdebutante will breeze into a room
with a tinkling of several bracelets laden with charms. One such bracelet
can have pleasantly and decoratively dangling mementos of special events
and occasions. I know a well-traveled young woman who adds a golden token
of each new country and important city she visits: among her dangles of
wrought gold and stones are a Mexican peon, a Balinese dancer, a gondola,
the Eiffel Tower, the volcano Fujiyama, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
There is also a heart, to indicate another region of her travels.
Queen Elizabeth I had so many dangles that she used not a bracelet but
a girdle, which held keys, a pair of scissors, and even the fork—a new
luxury in her days!—she used at the table. Beside these around the royal
waist, there hung “a round clock fullie garnished with dyamondes,” and
a prayer book two and a half inches long, bound in gold and set with a
cameo.
A pendant birthstone, the three monkeys that see, hear, and speak no
evil, and various lucky charms are also fit for dangles. Such items,
gathered through fortunate finds, add a personal and distinctive touch,
and convert an otherwise common ornament into an interesting jewel.
_More About Rings_
Never should rings be worn on different fingers of the same hand. In
other words, counting the engagement and marriage rings as one, one
should wear one ring on one hand at one time. Have many rings, if you
wish, but wear them in succession.
If the left hand is bound by the wedding pair, the middle finger of the
right hand might be the place for a fine touch of color, in a plain band,
or one ringed with small diamonds, with a large central colored stone.
The only ones by general consent allowed to wear many rings on many
fingers are the dowagers who can (and do) recall their youth in Queen
Victoria’s days.
_Gold Jewels_
Gold jewelry, without colored stones, may be termed neutral; that is,
any such piece will harmonize with other jewels. A plain gold bracelet
or watch, for example, may be worn with a gold and pearl ensemble.
Similarly, a plain gold piece can be worn with a multicolored jewel—if
the gold in the two pieces is of the same shade. Gold jewels, however,
should not be worn with other metals, such as diamonds set in platinum.
Silver, gold, platinum, or palladium: the same metal should characterize
the ensemble.
_In the Spotlight_
There will be occasions, in many women’s lives, when they will officially
be the center of attention. The various observations just made apply all
the more strongly then.
One may be summoned for an appearance on television, or as the speaker
at a gathering or meeting. Or one may, indeed, be in a profession that
calls for frequent public performance, as on the concert stage. I do not
speak of acting, or of singing in opera, for in such situations the part
naturally determines the costume.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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