Jewellery is not a luxury

When we speak of jewellery, we tend to think of those large sparkly gems and highly polished precious metals with adequate price tags attached to them screaming luxury and wealth to the world. They seem to present the “real“ jewellery, while everything else falls into the category “fake“. They are, no doubt, perceived as items confirming social status and success in the world, the ultimate expression of conspicuous consumption. They are things that people who have it all can buy, they are surplus, easy to go without, they are luxurious. But do they in fact capture the essence of what jewellery is? Excessive and easy to get without but nice to have or show? I don’t think so…