Pearls of Wisdom

Does the glimmer of jewels alone make them precious to us, or is it something more? In Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World, writer and jeweler Aja Raden inspects our lust for jewelry, how we've been conditioned to want it, and the mark our long-burning love affair with these symbolic possessions has made on human history. —Colleen Park

Where does our attraction to diamonds, pearls, and gold begin?

If something is sparkly or colorful, people will be drawn to it—but that includes crumpled-up tinfoil on the street. The next piece of the puzzle is the belief that there's something special about it. That's where factors like scarcity come into play: A thing becomes precious when it's thought to be in short supply, and it becomes priceless when it's running out.

You explain that De Beers made diamonds seem rare by controlling their supply—then hooked Americans on diamond engagement rings.

It actually impairs your ability to think rationally when you see a dwindling supply of something, or what you believe is a dwindling supply. If you make people believe that those around them are scrambling to get something, suddenly they have to have it, too.

What changed when jewelry became a middle-class asset?

We restructured what it's worth. You can go into Mikimoto and there are breathtaking $800,000 confections, or you can go to a beach shop and buy a strand of cultured, freshwater pearls for $10. It's not about which one is prettier. Though it may be an ugly aspect of our nature, we want to know where people fall on the social hierarchy, and one way we do that is with adornments.

Does knowing any of this diminish your own fascination with jewelry?

No. It's all based on emotion and desire. It's like romantic love for objects. Your friends can stand there and tell you that diamonds aren't really that scarce, and you still want one. It hasn't made me question my desires at all, because desire is, by its nature, irrational.

Mama Wants a Brand New Bag

Why would anyone covet a $2,000 Louis Vuitton purse or stand in line for hours at a Prada sample sale? Research suggests one less-than-obvious reason: Luxury goods may help fend off romantic rivals. In studies that appeared in the Journal of Consumer Research, fictitious women described as having designer clothes and accessories (rather than generic ones) were perceived by female subjects as having more devoted partners. Separately, researchers found that, on average, participants assumed that the woman's partner paid for more than half of her luxury items. Women who were relatively comfortable with flings expressed less interest in pursuing another woman's date if they read that her goods were, in fact, a gift from him. —Rachel Uda

Image: Jan Faukner/Shutterstock