For Valentine’s Day rubies, pearls; there is gold, silver, and platinum...the list goes on. Throughout history, fine jewelry has been a symbol of love, and what better time of the year to express one’s love than on Valentine’s Day. According to the Jewelry Information Center, a nonprofit trade association based in New York City, Valentine’s Day is the second largest jewelry-giving occasion of the year. Topping the list in a recent poll by Romantic Homes magazine, jewelry was voted “most romanticgift.” This most romantic day of the year got its start in the fourth century B.C. when Romanscele- brated the feast of Lupercal. A rite of passage for young men, lore has Heart pendantfrom Bailey, Banks, and Biddle (NAPS)—‘“Love is all thereis,’ wrote poet Emily Dickinson. Well, not quite! There are diamonds, Carry on tradition, and capture her heart with a piece of fine jewelry this Valentine’s Day. Fine jewelry gifts comein a variety of shapes,sizes, andprices from accessible to extrav- it that they would draw the names agant, andare as fashion-proof as loveitself. would exchange love letters, and joyously receive an engagement ring glittering with a diamond, the hardest and most enduring sub- of local ladies in a lottery. Throughout the year, the couples spend time getting to know one another. In the ensuing centuries, love stance known to man. As authors Antoinette Matlins and Antonio Bonanno state in their book, and its celebration became more codified, with jewelry as the Engagement and Wedding Rings, adoration and commitment to each other. Rings are “indisputably the engagement and weddingrings, she...will becomepart of a tradition accepted symbol of two people’s symbolof love,” says Elizabeth Flo- rence, Director of the Jewelry Information Center. “The shapeof a ring is a never-ending circle, and the tradition of diamond rings has stood the test of time. They are as fashion-proofasloveitself.” The Pharaohs of Egypt are credited with beingthefirst to use “When today’s bride receives her that has spannedcenturies.” Diana Vreeland, who wasedi- tor-in-chief of Vogwe magazine for many years, spoke passionately about diamonds, “It’s love. They almost make mecry. When I see diamonds ona little velvet pil- low...I die.” Buyinga gift of fine jewelry can a ring in the form of a circular be exciting, but make sure you are world’s first lovers, dressed in animal skins and living in caves, gift, be it an engagementring or a band to symbolize eternity. The most likely blessed their unions with rings of bone, plaited grass, and amber. Later, steel, ivory, and gold were used. While the Egyptians did incor- porate diamondsinto their jewelry, it wasn’t until 1477 that the gem becamepart of the weddingritual. Thanks to the decree that mandated Archduke Maximilian of Austria to “have a ring set with a diamond,” for Mary of Burgundy, at least 75 percent of today’s brides an informed shopper. The first step in selecting your Valentine’s simple heart shaped locket, is to shop at a professional jeweler. Look for a jeweler who is a mem- ber of a professional trade association such as Jewelers of America, which requires high ethical standards of its members and provides them with ongoing education. For more information on fine jewelry andto find a list of profes- sional jewelers near you,visit the Jewelry Information Center’s Web site at www.jewelryinfo.org.
