As a recent purchaser of an engagement ring, it has become apparent to me how important jewelry really is to people, men and women. Jewelry can definitely convey different messages non-verbally making it an artifact in nonverbal communication. There are all types of jewelry that convey certain messages, a major one being social status.
Jewelry has always been a form of expressing oneself throughout history. People with a lot of wealth and high social status have worn jewelry for more than 90,000 years. For example, in Ancient Egypt, the kings and queens had the finest jewelry, such as beaded collars and bracelets made of gold, which expressed to the people of their community that they were important. It is crazy to think that something worn around your neck could convey that strong of a message. There was no need to shout to the world that you were of high social status because the jewelry just spoke for itself.
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| King Tut's collar 1 |
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| King Tut's Arm Cuff 2 |
Today almost everybody wears jewelry but there are certain types of jewelry that convey the same message of high social status, such as expensive name brands.
If one wears expensive jewelry, they will definitely be perceived as having a lot of money, which I am sure, is what they want to portray. For example, a Tiffany 3-carat diamond ring or a Rolex watch are extremely expensive items and to wear one of these will show people that you have a lot of money.
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| Tiffany Rings 3 |
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| Rolex watch 4 |
Again the message of a lot of wealth is what people want to show with this expensive jewelry. There are definitely less expensive rings and watches out there if you needed one, but the reason they spend $60,000 on a single piece of jewelry is so people can see that on your hand or wrist and admire it as well as your money. This can be very rewarding to some people.
There is a very important message that people can receive from a specific piece of jewelry and that is wedding rings. “A wedding ring symbolizes eternity, endlessness, and something that cannot be broken. Wedding rings are given as a token of unending love for each other. (Kennan , 2007)” People know that when they see a wedding band on someone’s left hand, that person is taken, that person is already committed to someone else. This is definitely considered an artifact of nonverbal communication because the rings speak for themselves. They show a message of love for one another.
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| Wedding Bands 5 |
Another form of jewelry to express something would be class rings or championship rings. Wearing these rings let people know that you are or were a part of something. A lot of college students will buy class rings and wear them for a long period of their life to let people know that they went to school there and in a sense are proud of their school. Championship rings are worn by people who were part of a team that accomplished something huge, a championship The purpose of this ring is to let people know that you were a part of this team and you helped to win. So like other types of jewelry, these convey different messages.
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| Texas Tech Class Ring 6 |
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| L.A. Lakers Championship Ring |
So as you can see, there are all types of jewelry that portray different messages, like wealth and social status, love, commitment, and honor. There are so many other types of jewelry in the world that can convey many other types of meanings.
Author: Kenny Stott
Sources:
Kennan , M. (2007, March 01). Meaning of wedding rings. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Meaning-Of-Wedding-Rings&id=478859
DeVito, J. A. (2002). Human communication: The basic course. (9 ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Retrieved from http://www.pearsonhighered.com/samplechapter/0205353908.pdf
Cited Pictures
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communications/newsletter/images/07June/class-ring.jpg
http://www.timesnewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-Lakers-NBA-Championship-ring-2.jpg
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