What is it about jewelry that is so captivating and magical? For me, the intrigue is multi-faceted (wink wink).

First, the impulse to decorate our bodies with treasures from the earth is as old as mankind. We are innately driven to bejewel ourselves. Jewelry has never lost its allure, despite hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution. It transcends cultures, geography, socioeconomic class. Everyone, everywhere, wears it.

Second, wearing certain jewelry instantly puts me in a different frame of mind. Makes me feel cooler, more sophisticated, edgier, more bohemian. Clothes only go so far; the jewelry is the seasoning in the dish that brings the other flavors together and makes you kiss your fingers and say “mwah . . . delicious.”

Finally, the fact that gemstones–in all their glorious colors, sizes, and shapes–come from inside the earth is miraculous and, frankly, insane. These are rocks, people!

Shel Silverstein painted a vivid picture when he described the “fruit of jewels” in his poem, “The Garden”:

Ol’ man Simon, planted a diamond, 
Grew hisself a garden the likes of none.
Sprouts all growin’, comin’ up glowin’,
Fruit of jewels all shinin’ in the sun.
Colors of the rainbow,
See the sun and rain grow
Sapphires and rubies on ivory vines, 
Grapes of jade, just
Ripenin’ in the shade, just
Ready for the squeezin’ into green jade wine.
Pure gold corn there,
Blowin’ in the warm air,
Ol’ crow nibblin’ on the amnythyst seeds.
In between the diamonds, ol’ man Simon
Crawls about pullin’ out platinum weeds.
Pink pearl berries,
All you can carry,
Put ’em in a bushel and
Haul ’em into town.
Up in the tree there’s
Opal nuts and gold pears–
Hurry quick, take a stick
And shake some down.
Take a silver tater,
Emerald tomater,
Fresh plump coral melons
Hangin’ in reach.
Ol’ man Simon,
Diggin’ in his diamonds,
Stops and rests and dreams about
One…real…peach.

Unlike Ol’ man Simon, I’m not yet so inundated with jewels that I take them for granted. But I do appreciate the imagery of jewels as fruit, because they are so luscious, vibrant, and varied. Nature’s most glamorous bounty!