The Signature Piece

I’ve long been intrigued by the predilection of some women for wearing ONE piece of jewelry all the time. Some women carry this off beautifully and as a “change it up all the time” girl, I never can resist feeling envious. It of course depends on the woman, but sometimes it really comes off as a kind of settled acceptance and awareness of self. I think three big aspects can affect whether a jewelry item becomes your “signature piece” : comfort, a heart connection, and meaning as related to spirituality.

Jewelry that is comfortable becomes a part you, like your skin, like another appendage-it’s worn even when you sleep or shower. It is something you rarely think about but becomes such a part of who you that it almost becomes invisible. Furthermore, friends come to depend on seeing that one special piece where it usually is. It anchors your personality for them. It becomes inextricable from your persona, and one more endearing aspect of you that they treasure. Indeed, we’ve all had the experience of noticing that someone we are close to isn’t wearing their usual and it can be extremely disorienting-even disconcerting! All was not right in the world somehow if Juliana wasn’t wearing her tree pendant on a leather cord that I coveted and that always looked so incredible on her. Was something wrong I would inquire?? What on earth could have happened?

A gift of jewelry from a loved one is a powerful heart centered gesture, and jewelry that reminds us of our loved one forges an energetic heart connection from person to thing (you to your piece). We all know how hard it is to give up that diamond from the first marriage (what am I talking about I've never been married). High school girls wear their boyfriend's ring around their neck, a three stone diamond necklace may symbolize the longevity of a relationship, a gift from a dear friend becomes something treasured (I still treasure Laura’s Black tourmaline, and rhodochrosite and strawberry quartz piece she gave me when I finished my doctorate); the birthstone of someone dear makes us feel closer to that person in a secret way.

Jewelry is adornment, an expression of love, but its predilection for symbolism creates cornucopia of possibilities for more abstract meaning making as well. Perhaps the deepest kind of meaning in jewelry is related to spirituality. Now, when I say spirituality, I am not talking religion here folks, but that can be a part of it. The obvious example is the cross necklace. It is not only a symbol of faith, but it functions as a dynamic and ongoing reminder of that person's personal connection to the divine. But how ‘bout something less obvious?

The acorn.

When I was in graduate school at Indiana University, I worked part time at Grasshopper Flats, one of the more high end jewelers in Nashville, Indiana, in Brown County.(If you haven’t gone there to see the leaves in fall, you MUST go and while there visit one of my favorite shops Nature's Cabin). I had a customer who came in frequently, and always wore a tiny acorn necklace. It was choker length, so the acorn fell beautifully right in the hollow of her collar bone. It suited her to a T and each time she came into the store, I admired it as if I were seeing it on her for the first time. Eventually I shared with her what I knew about the acorn.

According to many sources, the acorn symbolizes growth. It is the fruit of the Oak Sessile tree, which is the national tree of Wales, so throughout history in Norse and Celtic cultures, we see a reverence of acorns as they symbolize life, fertility and immortality. Druids ate acorns, believing them to have prophetic qualities, and acorns were also sacred to the god Thor whose Tree of Life was the oak. My customer revealed that she was indeed in a rebuilding phase of her life where she needed to have a lot of strength so this made alot of sense to her.

For a fantstic recipe for Acorn Pancakes click here.

Symbols are utterly fascinating to me—and an inexhaustible topic. I believe symbols are multifaceted and like other aspects of culture, travel from place to place and their meaning changes. Sticking with our acorn for example, oak leaves and acorns comprise one of the circular 'hex' signs used by the Amish and Mennonite communities of southern Pennsylvania and some of these signs are believed to bestow favors such as protection or natural abundance.

I think if we examine symbols in an interdisciplinary way that combines history, culture, social relevance, spirituality, we see that that the meaning of a thing is not absolute, something that might prove helpful in avoiding the formation of stereotypes and prejudices.

There are other examples in the media of signature pieces that represent meaning as related to spirituality. For example, the necklace Suze Ormon wears is the symbol for the fifth chakra called the VISSHUDHA in Hindi. Visshudha means purification and according to Hindu tradition, this chakra is said to be located behind the throat and represents the element of Ether and governs sound. it is often represented by the color blue. Lapis for example with all its stoney deep blueness is widely regarded as a stone for the throat or fifth chakra. The point is, Suze doesn’t wear this necklace for adornment purposes only. It has tremendous personal significance to her spiritually. Spirituality is not the first thing you might think of when you think of Suze Ormon, but there you go!

Have you noticed that when Nigella Lawson dresses up, out comes this huge pale blue rock on her finger. Have you seen that thing? WOWOWO. She is wearing it on the back cover of one of her books and on her shows dons it mainly for evening soirees. One might think- oh it’s just a dressy ring for evening- perhaps, but then she was also wearing it in her December 20, 2002 interview with Charlie Rose. For me, there is a big intrigue on this one-when and why does she reach for this piece? Light blue means SOMETHING to her, if you notice, her line of kitchen tools is predominantly robin's egg blue. I don’t have the scoop for you on that yet, but as part of my research in this area, I have written her and asked her if this stunning, long, rectangular, pale blue stone has a special significance for her and what it is. Stay tuned!

So, you’re wondering, what’s my symbol piece? I’ve had one, but I’ll tell you about that when I know you better. The piece I have been most connected to in the last year or so is a double terminated aqua aura crystal, wire wrapped by a friend in Bloomington. I wear it on a white gold chain with delicate little gold beads. I couldn't take this piece off during the summer prior to and the whole semester following my 2006 move to Washington D.C. Speculation on that is for another blog.

Then, in the last year or so, I find myself drawn again and again to turquoise, but that’s a topic for my next entry!

So my pretties, do YOU have a signature piece of jewelry and would you be willing to share it here? Do tell what the piece is and what the meaning is to you!