Jewelry Diverts Attention, Use Wisely


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The use of jewelry dates back tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of years. The modern concept of jewelry in America derives from its European roots where it played a particular role in fashion, attractiveness, and status. Jewelry serves to focus a person's attention to a particular region of the body, the place where the jewelry resides. If one has particularly attractive ears then wearing earrings will divert a conversant's attention temporarily and occasionally to the wearer's ear thereby highlighting the attractive feature and making the wearer seem more attractive. Bracelets would be worn by women with slender wrists to bring attention to that socially accepted mark of beauty. It can also be used to divert attention away from unpleasant parts; earring divert attention to the ears, and hence away from other (perhaps less attractive) parts of the face. But it also diverts attention away from the eyes and from that all-too-important eye contact.

Jewelry nowadays is used with less deliberation. People accessorize without regard for the effect it will have on other people but rather with how well the pieces go together or who nice or interesting it looks on its own. This has diminished jewelry's effect overall and has confused a once-useful signaling mechanism for social interaction. A shiny necklace may bring my attention to a neckline or bust, but if it's a manager or professor wearing the necklace then focusing on those regions is a bad thing. If you wear a nice ring (or several rings) on you finger(s) then I will naturally and subconsciously turn my eyes and divert my attention to your hands on occasion. Is that what you want? If not, then don't wear the rings. Do you really want me checking out your nostril every once in a while? If not, then don't get a nose ring. Duh!

As for the status element of jewelry, by wearing expensive jewelry you are sending a signal that you have surplus money that you can readily waste on non-productive merchandise. Like the feathers of a peacock, this sends an unambiguous signal of high quality. Or, more precisely, the quality of one's jewelry sends a signal of the quality of the person wearing it. Perhaps you should rethink wearing that five dollar necklace you bought from a street vendor in Peru. Sure it looks nice, but is that the signal that you want to send? Sometimes yes. Some people appreciate the simple things in life more than the extravagant, and if that is who you want to garner attention from then a simple piece is better suited to your desires. Then there is a whole crowd of "counter-culture" people for whom the jewelry itself is the attractive thing (it's a mild fetish) and you can expect to see multiple piercings in multiple locations (and as a rule these people know that this is only a desirable feature to other people in their clique). It may be quantity rather than quality that matters here.

This is nothing new or surprising. I pick my eyeglass frames based on how well they suit my face, the type of personality image they project, and various practical aspects such as weight and durability. Eyeglasses and watches are a type of jewelry, or at least have a jewelry-like component to their affect on other people. My point is that all jewelry does have an effect on other people and so your jewelry should be chosen strategically to have the affect that you desire. If you want people to really pay attention to what you are saying then no jewelry is probably best. If you have nothing interesting to say, then the more distraction (and so the more jewelry) the better; and you will be sending those respective signals even if you don't mean to. People have a subconscious understanding of this and it is revealed in subculture jewelry conventions (self-identified feminists rarely wear much jewelry while teeny-boppers are covered in bling). But having a conscious understanding will help you better focus your conversant's attention to where you'd like it, wherever that might be.


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About me

  • I'm Aaron Bramson
  • At the University of Michigan


  • This blog is an extension of my normal website (www.bramson.net) where I used to post various articles in my critic's corner section. Using this blog provides easier maintenance, greater functionality, and a wider readership of my thoughts, opinions, and complaints about life and living it.

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