Women and the lure of gold

by Mayuri Jayasuriya

What would please a woman most, to receive as a gift from a loved one?

Most probably around 99 percent would say a piece of good jewellery.

Today, jewellery has become an integral part of every woman's dress sense. Not only does it add to the beauty of a woman, by spicing up her outfit, but it also makes her feel proud and happy. One's jewellery should blend beautifully with today's attire a woman wears.

The connection between gold and marriage is enshrined in Hindu mythology. When Venkateswaran, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, wanted to marry Princess Padmavathi, he sought a loan of gold from Kuber, the God of Wealth, to pay her father.

This may be the reason that up to this day devotees still donate gold and jewellery at certain temples in a symbolic gesture to help Venkateswaran win the hand of the princess.

Maha Lakshmi, the Goddess of Good Luck in Hinduism, showers gold coins from her outstretched palms. These examples would no doubt show that gold has a close connection to women.

Thalikodi

It is said that Visakha had left a Mela Palandana, a very valuable piece of jewellery, in the temple, and later, she bought it back, giving the money for Poorvarama to be built. In Hindu custom, the Thalikodi which is given by the groom to the bride, is a very important ritual. However, poor the groom may be, it is a gesture of showing one's capacity of supporting a wife. The more sovereigns the Thalikodi includes, the more prestigious it is for the groom, to take the hand of his bride.

For centuries Asian marriages have been sealed with gold. Each wedding season countless brides are given away wearing elaborate sets of gold jewellery including earrings, necklaces, bangles and rings. The ancient link between gold and dowries is one of the main reasons that Asia is the world's biggest consumer of the yellow metal.

In Asia, when a baby girl is born, her immediate family gifts her with gold jewellery. In the same manner when she attains age, it is an accepted practice that her parents, grandparents and other relations give her gifts of gold jewellery. The lure of gold thus begins practically from her crib. For a woman, it certainly is a matter of pride, to mention that a particular jewellery item has been handed down from generation to generation.

There are many types of gold, such as Green Gold, Blue Gold, White Gold, Rose Gold and Yellow Gold. Yellow Gold is the most popular in Asia. The main reason is that yellow gold has second hand value. It can be pawned or sold in the open market.

Queen Elizabeth II, it is said, has a special room in Buckingham Palace to keep her precious jewellery. The Queen's personal jewellery is valued at $57 million dollars.

Diamonds

Elizabeth Taylor is well known for her large and exquisite jewellery collection, including the 33.19 carat Krupp diamond and the 69.42-carat pear shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond which now hangs from a diamond necklace after she decided it was just a little too large for a ring.

Richard Burton also gave her a heart-shaped yellow diamond which was originally a gift from Shah Jehan in 1621 to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who also inspired the building of the Taj Mahal.

Although Elizabeth Taylor is usually associated with huge diamonds, she has also a fabulous collection of other gemstones.

Another gift from Burton was La Peregrina, one of the largest and historic pearls in existence, a pear shaped drop weighing 203.84 grains, once owned by the Spanish royal family.

Jackie Kennedy-Onassis too had an exquisite taste in jewellery. She loved large, colourful necklaces and bracelets. Her jewellery collection grew when she married Aristotle Onassis after the assassination of her husband the US President John F. Kennedy.

Her jewellery included her engagement ring worth $ 2.6 million , from Onassis, a striking cabochon garnet flower brooch from the 19th century,a spectacular 17.68-carat ruby ring, a pair of cabochon ruby dangling earrings and a cabochon ruby necklace.

Even today some families collect gold as soon as a daughter is born in preparation for her marriage. Today, gold is used as a symbol of wealth and social status.

Good luck

There is a popular belief that wearing gold jewellery brings good luck to women and their husbands. It is bad luck to leave a woman's ears bare without earrings.

According to many jewellery shop owners their customers are mostly women. Most employed women possess buying power, and banks and other financial institutions offer easy payment terms to purchase jewellery.

A large number of women have taken to jewellery designing. They know what designs would appeal to women.Most jewellery shops engage the services of women sales executives as female customers prefer to be served by a woman especially jewellery.