The World of Exotic Jewellery By: Oluwaseun Boye

In today’s society, jewellery is an important fashion accessory that improves appearance. Anyone who wants to keep pace with the latest fashion trends and wants to achieve a beautiful look needs to complement wearing fashionable dresses with the appropriate jewellery. 

In order to achieve this look, it is essential to choose accessories that fits and brings out the dressing.

Women are passionate about Jewellery as it represents a symbol of femininity and even social status. Jewellery has always made women feel beautiful, confident and complete. Everywhere in the world, women are wearing an ample variety of jewelleries.

Whether it is about necklaces, bracelets or earrings or rings, jewellery is extremely popular.

Jewellery is often viewed as a fashion accessory for completing an outfit. For many, a look is not complete until the right accessories are added. A "classic" look, for instance, demands pearls and diamonds for completion. For the ' owambe'parties, a set of gold accessories, subtle or heavy costume jewellery make the occasion "thick" .

Jewellery has played an important role in human life for thousands of years.

History reveals that ancient civilisations appreciated jewellery and it was used to highlight the natural beauty of its wearers. Different pieces were worn to symbolise different messages such as security, wisdom, elegance, and prosperity.

Many ladies like to wear jewellery as a symbol of femininity or to showcase social status. 

Jewellery refers to small accessories such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. It has always been a way of adding style to a person and clothing including both men and women.

However, women are more passionate than men about jewellery as it represented a symbol of femininity and even social status.

Jewellery has always made women feel beautiful and confident. However, men wear them a lot today, too.

Jewellery is very valuable to women and it's importance in their lives today cannot be overestimated given the fact that it has been worn by humans for centuries. Its popularity only increases as time progresses as new styles and designs keep emerging. 

Some women attending special occasions, such as weddings, graduations, award ceremonies, birthday parties, and anniversary dinners , even work places without wearing jewellery seem not an option for the majority of women. They would feel dull and under-dressed without some pieces of jewellery to adorn themselves.

There is no doubt that jewellery enhances every outfit. More importantly, there are several things that need to be understood about choosing jewellery for each occasion.

The first thing to understand is that some jewelry pieces are subtle, and some make a statement.

 However, there are times when you want to be beautiful but subtle, without drawing too much attention to yourself while other times you want all eyes on the piece you have chosen to wear.

For example, if you are dressing for the workplace  or an event that is very conservative, it is best to go for subtle. It is important to also consider your outfit, if you are wearing a dress that does not leave room for a necklace to be seen,  a bracelet may be necessary or  you wear a long earring to go with the attire. But for occasions like weddings,  birthdays, burial parties, you may go for the bold jewellery set, costume or gold, depending on  what you have in your box.

In her contribution, Ms Ayobami Adebayo  said her love for jewelleries is second to none! 

"l started buying real gold jewelelries for myself during my NYSC year. I did purely gold for 15years post NYSC. I wasn't buying then for investment it was mainly for fashion but when l lost my job for the second time in 2009, my jewelleries became my liquid asset. When life became tougher l sold all my gold jewelleries to take care of living cost".

"In addition, I am a  lover of jewelleries in a corporate world, where it is usually seen as not been corporate. I am so much into jewelleries that l had to suppress the environmental influence. I wear my jewelleries with pride, my head always above the sea. And many of my colleagues later love me for my style and signature. The same goes for whatever we love, carriage determines the level of acceptance or rejection. I do dubai gold, Italian, Brazilian,  medium and high quality costume" she said. 

In her own view, Mrs. Yemisi Onanuga said she started wearing Jewellery since she was a child.

"My mum told me that as a small girl I go out even on a  casual wear completely adorned in jewellery. I've always believed that my dressing isn't complete without my earrings, neck chain, wristwatch( I love that so much in colours that matches) rings, bangles, I like my jewellery to match my attire and also I love it in bright colours.

For different occasions, I like it simple for official wear, either in silver gold or three tones that is, gold, silver and bronze made together, ( I love three tones selections so much). For parties, I  love to wear dropping earrings, long gold plated earrings usually with peals embedded. For investment, I  have been doing this since when I was in Secondary School. It was an opportunity for me to save up money then, with the advantage of living in an area where pure gold was accessible. I would use part of my pocket money to  purchase some and keep with my mum, wear it during the holidays while also  monitoring the prices of gold per gram at the market so that I'll be able to sell when the price of each gram goes up, so this has been in me to invest in gold for so many years and I see it as something that's still worth doing, though prices fluctuate from time to time but am always monitoring it to get a good deal" she remarked. 

Though it is one thing to shop for beautiful jewellery, it is entirely another to be able to provide them with the best care possible. This constant care is why many families are able to boast of having amazing jewellery that they have kept as family heirlooms or sell them off later as a form of investment. 

However, cleaning your jewellery not only saves you money but also guarantees that you look glamorous every time you wear these pieces. Here are the basics of jewellery maintenance that can help you ensure your jewellery pieces remain in perfect shape.

i. Proper storage: Store your jewellery in a clean and dry place to ensure they remain in the best shape. Use a soft cloth lined jewellery box to prevent scratches and dents. If possible, wrap each piece with a soft cloth or tissue. Separate each piece from the other to avoid scratching, breaking and tangling.

ii. How to dress with your jewellery: To avoid jewellery from being tangled in garments, put it on after you have worn your dress. Likewise, jewellery should be the first thing you remove when undressing.

iii. Jewellery in extreme weather: If you have to go out during extreme weather, you can opt to store your jewellery in your purse and wear it you reach a safe place. If you want to partake in extreme sports, prevent damage and loss by leaving your jewellery at home or in a safe place.

iv. Inspect your jewellery often: To guarantee your jewellery stays in great shape, take a conscious effort to inspect it regularly and clean off dirt and grime.

v. Go to your jeweller in case of damage: If a part of your piece falls off or breaks, do not try to repair it yourself. Instead, take the piece to your jeweller for professional repairs. Depending on the warranty that came with the jewellery, you could get a replacement.

vi. Wear your jewellery regularly: You might be surprised to learn that the best way to maintain your jewellery is to wear the pieces regularly.

vii. Do not wear your jewellery in a pool: Most metals used in jewellery making are sturdy but when exposed to chemicals, there is a big risk of fading or corrosion.

So, ladies keep them safe!