Giddy Aunts and Old Wives Tales about Jewellery

Do you have a "Giddy Aunt" or an "Old Wife" in your family who has passed on some strange ideas about jewellery? Pehaps you have heard one or two of the following?

•If the clasp of your necklace is touching the pendant, someone is thinking of you.

•In the interests of Good Taste, before leaving the house, take one last look in the mirror and remove one piece (not your knickers! An extraneous bit of bling)

•Gin cleans jewellery (maybe… but there are better uses for it – and better jewellery cleaners too!)

•13th century alchemist Albertus Magnus claimed that wrapping an opal in bay leaves made the wearer invisible.

•Rubbing a gold ring on an eye-stye will cure it

•Pearls were thought to be 'solidified tears' in medieval times and were once believed unlucky.

•If a wedding ring suspended from a strand of the father's hair over a pregnant belly moves from side to side, it'll be a girl.

•If a turquoise stone changes colour it is a warning you will die (…actually, it is probably a sign that the stone is reacting to sweat, cosmetics or cleaning products chemicals, or that too much ultraviolet light exposure has bleached it)

•Opals were believed to be good luck… conveying foresight and good health

•Opals were believed to be bad luck… unless they’re your birthstone or given to you (this Old Wives’ Tale emerged around the turn of last century at the same time as opals were growing in popularity and English Diamond Merchants were getting worried. Unfortunately for opals Sir Arthur Conan Doyle mentioned them in connection with bad luck in a Sherlock Holmes novel and the rumours spread.)

•Diamonds were believed to possess special witch repelling powers and would prevent the wearer from insanity (hmmm?!)

This giddy aunt certainly believes that jewellery has meaning – but it’s a very personal meaning symbolising something special to the wearer.

Article Source: http://www.therepozitory.com.au

This article has been written by Chief Giddy Aunt Nikki Johnston from www.ohmygiddyaunt.com.au Oh My Giddy Aunt! has been designing and creating personalised jewellery and keepsakes to tell family stories for over four years in Australia.

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