ADORNMENTS
“EXPENSIVE AND RICH” PRINCIPLE BECOMES A THING OF THE PAST
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What kind of jewelry do Belarusian women like
Nowadays, it is quite difficult to get an idea of a personal income level judging by what a person is wearing. And this is especially noticeable when it comes to jewelry: today, bijouterie is in fashion — inexpensive items made of base metals. Both high school girls and successful ladies over forty wear them readily. Jewelry seems to have become less relevant — modern women can easily do without it. But jewelry store sellers argue that this is not the case. — It is clear that jewelry is far from being an essential item. But people continue to get married, which means they will buy wedding and engagement rings. An engagement ring is a ring that is given to a girl being proposed, and only she wears it, while wedding rings are for both partners. Recently, engagement rings have become part of the wedding tradition in Belarus. And small girls who have just had their ears pierced are usually given their first earrings made of gold. Well, jewelry is still an excellent gift for a beloved woman on any occasion, — says Marina Kudritskaya, a shop
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БЕЛАРУСЬ. BELARUS 2021
assistant of a jewelry department in one of the capital’s shopping centers.
What do Belarusian women like
— Rubies have been in fashion for several seasons, but these gemstones can, if misused, make an “old-fashioned” look — says Marina. — To look stylish, a young girl should think through her image.
Despite the upheavals and cataclysms, which, apparently, our history is rich in, many families have preserved “grandmother’s jewel-boxes” with gold earrings and rings. Usually granddaughters keep such relics as a memory and rarely wear them. Well, they may give it to a jewelry workshop to have something more modern out of a grandmother’s ring. It is believed that gold and precious stones are a kind of “constant”, “eternal jewels”. Indeed, there is “timeless” jewelry, which is distinguished by simple forms and democratic design, not loaded with additional decor. Such jewelry looks good both in day time and evening look. But there is fashion in the jewelry industry, albeit not as changeable as in the bijouterie industry. Its trend-setters today are the jewelry capitals of the world — Hong Kong and Thailand. Once a year the World Jewelry Exhibition is held in Hong Kong ,
ideas are born there, which later go around the world, and adapt to local tastes in each country. — On the Belarusian market the preference is given to calm, tender and discreet jewelry: medium-sized products, small stones. Jewelry collections for evening wear are not widely represented in Belarusian jewelry stores, because they are not in great demand, notes the interlocutress. Although, as I was told, there are exceptions to the rule: about four years ago, a five-thousand-dollar diamond necklace was sold in one of Minsk jewelry stores — for evening wear. But in general, our women usually buy evening accessories in bijouterie departments, and not in jewelry stores. An interesting nuance: Belarusian women, like Russian, love the so-called “English clasp” earrings. In collections for Western Europe, stud-type clasp prevails, as European women like it more. — Our women want to look beautiful all the time. And when they clean the room or wash the dishes, dig potatoes or do baking, very often they do not take the rings off their fingers. And jewelry is supposed to be worn when out visiting, and taken off at home and put into a jewelry box. If you wear it all the time, gemstones can crack
