Blog Challenge, My View

All that sparkles, is it really worth the hullabaloo!?!

Real Women, Real Preferences

You will be hard pressed to find a woman who doesn’t like jewellery or is not moved by the mere mention of it. I remember my grandmas and aunts making such a hullabaloo during my older cousin’s weddings over jewellery – the worth of the bride coming in or the daughter going out – were all valued as per the jewellery she would possess.

If you go by the jewellery ads, this is purely a woman’s domain – for a woman, of a woman and perhaps by a woman! So a piece of jewellery is critical for a man to secure his woman. Don’t believe me, have you seen these ads?

* She is upset; buy her a trinket and all is well in her world again.*

* Woo her with a diamond ring, and marriage proposal is done. *

* Charm her with a bracelet or ear-rings and she is all yours. *

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Jewellery never fails at it!

But what is about jewels that get a woman so excited; so easy to be won over; to be impressed……………..

Is it the sparkle or the glamour or the size or the rock?

Is it just the ads that are so brilliantly created or do real women have real preferences for gemstones?

I decided to explore this question a little further by asking my many friends and cousins (all women, mind you) as to what is it that makes a piece of jewellery or gemstone so special that we go gaga over it at the drop of a hat.

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What is a Gemstone?

“I hear the word ‘Gemstone’ and something ‘sparkling’ and really ‘beautiful’ comes in front of my eyes but my brain takes me back to the chemistry class when I had learnt about gemstone as a ‘mineral’,” says Jyotika Pruthi, (30+) a budding poetess and describes herself as a short heighted Professor who teaches really tall students.

Going by conventional wisdom, “Gemstones are naturally occurring stones which maybe further classified into precious and semi-precious, owing to their monetary value”.

As per Chandni Moudgil,” a working definition of gemstone would be a stone that has certain unique qualities with respect to colour or sharpness or rarity that makes it unique and thereby precious.”

So while Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire are some of the precious stones, highly valued for their commercial qualities, semi precious ones like Amethyst, Garnet, Tourmaline, opal, etc are valued for their healing properties and colours and are also favoured in contemporary silver jewellery business.

 Archana Manglik likes to relate to them asthe feminine-ness of ruby; calmness of the emerald; power of the blue sapphire and the spark of diamond”

There is a school of thought that believes in gemstones being good for one’s health, romance, and business. Crystals are used for healing and associated with the body chakras while certain stones bring wealth and health to its wearer.

Shikha Chopda (30+) from Noida who spends all her time chasing the boys { one husband, two sons and a dog} while multitasking her career & passion in Architecture, feels that “even though the ’other’ gemstones are not as hard or precious as diamonds, they are beautiful to look at due to their gorgeous hues and imperfections.”

“Gemstones are exotic minerals which are strikingly beautiful and colourful, used in jewellery but most mysterious attribute is that they are used as healing stones (and they do work)”, opines Pallavi B Goyal (33) from New Delhi who is a finance major, running a successful e-commerce venture, who wears a wear Yellow sapphire since 2010 and believes that it has greatly helped in her self-confidence, increased faith in and judgement of people.

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Are Diamonds really for forever?

Diamonds are “forever” and they are super awesome! Heirlooms to pass on to the next generations and cushions for bad times!, says Namrata Agarwal a confused Californian homemaker cum investment banker who is exploring life after 40.

The million dollar question that is on the mind of every woman worth her salt (er…carbon!) is this. And why shouldn’t it be when it’s been successfully cultivated as the ultimate symbol of love and affection!

Yes a diamond is cherished and coveted as the hallmark of love and no matter who you are or how you deny it, the lure is unmistakable and hard to resist. The hardest mineral in nature, it’s the crystal lattice which makes it so unique. And it’s cherished in baubles as cut or uncut – all that matters is that it’s a diamond. The bigger the better; it’s a sign of affluence and there is a whole science devoted to grading it commercially.

But while one may technically harp on the 5 Cs of evaluating a diamond, a woman’s heart will always bestow the bigger C of Cherish to it – and that’s the one that matters the most.

 “I remember never being truly enamoured by stones till perhaps the second when my husband-to-be got me a diamond. I am not big on jewellery still but these two rings [ the proposal ring and the engagement ring ] make me feel like the pretty girl, one wants to feel like once in a while,” confesses Chandni Moudgil, a working professional, blogger and a mom who is trying to find the non-existent balance between work and beyond.

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Perceived value of Gemstones

“Any stone uncut or polished that adds value to my being is a gemstone”, says Archana Manglik (43) – A dehradun resident who juggles life being a wife, mom and a businesswoman, having avid interests in astrology and dousing.

“The two pieces of jewellery important to me are not because they are diamond studded, but the emotions attached with them via the people who gifted them to me,” says Chandni Moudgil

“Rocks make me feel ‘more complete’ which is why I like to wear some staples in everyday life and glitzy (read bigger) kind for social stuff,” honest confession from Namrata Agarwal.                              

“Easy for people to figure marital status (damn!),” jokes Pallavi B Goyal whose husband insists on her wearing it at all times, much to her chagrin.

 “When it comes to jewellery of any kind, the quirkier the better is my opinion. What I’m drawn to most is pendants – a big drop, a cluster of beads, add some whimsy, and I’ll be pulling my card out of the wallet! Gemstones are meant to be worn, enjoyed, and admired”. says Shinjini Mehrotra  (35) who is an inspired artist, seeker of soul, prolific writer, Tarot reader, graphic designer, digital memory keeper. In her spare time, she work as a financial editor

All in all, I can sum up by saying that more than the commercial value attributed to jewels, it’s the emotions attached that makes it special for the wearer. So while someone wears it for confidence others for the beauty of it. That is why perhaps jewellery will never go out of style or business!!


This blog post was initially conceived to be published on the website of a noted jewelery brand; in lieu of a Twitter chat that I had won which the Brand and its promoters had hosted in October 2016. But months of chasing them both, resulted in nothing except massive disappointment on my part – finally after a slightly public venting, this post was published on the brand website. (For me, it was a matter of principle – for everyone else concerned, I think it was just about the money, money, money)

So anyways, I am now re-doing this post on my blog with greatest of pride and thank the ones who lent their two bits towards its wisdom and gyaan!!

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11 thoughts on “All that sparkles, is it really worth the hullabaloo!?!

  1. You are right about emotions being the main reason as to why I hold somethings precious, even if it is a plastic earring, if given by a special person, it will always be special.

    1. I know what you mean Ami. My mom used to bemoan my collection of trash as she would get real annoyed with it. She could never understand why do I treasure it all so much. But it’s the thought that counts that stays with me and I end up hoarding it all.

    1. Ooooh I love your selections to. Deadly combination. I loved doing this post as it was fun to speak to real women about their jewels and why they treasure them.

  2. Superb and well written detailed post. I loved reading it. I love diamonds in all shapes and forms, whether it’s a ring on my finger, diamond studs in my ears, a hanging pendant from my neck or a dazzling bracelet on my wrist. No other jewellery looks quite as divine as a diamond does, because no other gemstone can sparkle like a diamond does and there’s something about this sparkle that I love it so much. I want to feel special and unique, which is perfect because each diamond is special and unique, no two are the same. This makes the item of jewellery all the more sentimental and irreplaceable.

  3. It’s good that you didn’t ask me coz I absolutely have no idea about stone cut or uncut… I love semi precious stones more than others but as home decor items like jade statue or amethyst rock. They look pretty 🙂 I learnt a lot about gemstones from this post.

    1. Hey Raj – so glad you liked my writeup. I love amethyst as a crystal and infact I have fallen in love with crystals and seem to be buying them from anywhere to everywhere… 😉

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