Merriam-Webster defines precious as, 1) rare and worth a lot of money, 2) very valuable or important, or 3) greatly loved, valued or important. It defines Valuable as 1) worth a lot of money, 2) very useful or helpful, or 3) important and in limited amount. So what really makes jewelry precious to us?

     Jewelry can be valuable just based on what its made of (precious metals and stones obviously have an intrinsic value). But I believe what really makes a piece precious is how it makes us feel. A family heirloom can be precious regardless of what it is made of for example, just for the feeling of connection it can give us with the person that gave it to us or our ancestors before them. A piece can remind us of a loved one, or of their love itself (wedding rings would be an example of this or any piece given by someone just because they love you and wanted to show it in a lasting physical embodiment).

       For a piece to be precious it needs to make us feel something whether that is empowered, beautiful, smart, happy, sassy or whatever. Something that you buy to go with a favorite outfit for example may help you feel more pretty when wearing it. It needs to have that emotional connection to truly be precious. I have had lots of people drawn to different pieces I have made just because of how it has made them feel, or it “just felt good” to them.

       I think a lot of that comes from using natural stones as each is unique and will appeal to different people. In one case I was doing a custom order engagement ring and had well over a dozen different amethysts purchased for the customer to chose from for it and in relatively short order she had identified the one out of those that spoke to her and she wanted in her ring. I had several different sizes and several stones in each size of similar quality for her to choose from but she found one that spoke to her, made her feel something and that is what she based her decision on. That in addition to what the ring represented about how her now husband felt about her, combined to make that truly a precious ring.

       So remember whether it is a diamond encrusted bracelet, or just a simple plain copper band, if it doesn’t make you feel something it will never be truly precious to you, regardless of if the materials it is made from make it valuable or not.