Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry



""Men grow cold

As girls grow old

And we all lose our charms in the end

But square-cut or pear-shaped

These rocks don't lose their shape

Diamonds are a girl's best friend""

When Jewelry is shown in fiction, it's to pretty up a scene. Pretty much like Real Life, since wearing jewelry is almost always to enhance appearance and/or to show off wealth.

Sparkly jewelry also makes a great MacGuffin; a Mineral MacGuffin, even.

Sub Tropes include:
 * Gem Encrusted (Sticking Jewelry on anything it would pretty up)
 * Diamonds in The Buff
 * Distracted By the Luxury (as jewelry is the most common luxury used)
 * Ring of Power (since rings are jewelry)
 * Power Crystal.

A Sister Trope to Pretty in Mink, Gold Makes Everything Shiny.

Compare Everything's Better With Sparkles, Pimped-Out Dress, Conspicuous Consumption (which this trope almost always is).

Anime and Manga

 * Rose of Versailles not only has MANY Gorgeous Period Dresses, but also features the Diamond Necklace Afair mentioned below.
 * Naru Osaka's mother in Sailor Moon is a widow who owns a jewelry store, and the first episode of the anime features it.
 * Of course we also have the Silver Crystal aka the Ginzishou, which takes the form of a diamond. And then all of Usagi's Transformation Trinkets are basically shiny lockets whee she keeps her magical crystals, Ginzishou included.

Film

 * The song "Diamonds are a girl's best friend" from the musical version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (made famous by Marilyn Monroe in the film version).
 * Some of Satine's Pimped Out Dresses in Moulin Rouge have "Diamond" in the name by the costume designer -- and the evil Duke offers her a necklace so stunning that even she is briefly dazzled.
 * In Love Potion #9, Sandra Bullock is offered a diamond necklace by an Italian car magnate. At first she refuses, but when she finds out that his company is the one that made her piece-of-crap car, she takes it from him.
 * Jodhaa Akbar. What did you expect? Rajputs love their bling.
 * Diamonds Are Forever and its very sparkly, Fetish Fuel-tacular title sequence.
 * Ginger in Casino loves showing hers off.
 * The ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz were changed from silver in the book -- both shiny.
 * The change was partly so the slippers would show up better in Technicolor. As a MacGuffin, they need to be clearly visible.

Literature

 * Sisterhood series by Fern Michaels: Myra Rutledge has a pearl necklace that she tends to play with out of habit. In Home Free, she apparently pulled on her necklace too hard, breaking it, causing pearls to spill on the floor, and she had to go shopping for a new necklace chain.

Live Action TV

 * Several times in Sex and The City, the girls have reacted with near orgasmic glee when given fancy jewelry by their beaus. Miranda being the exception, she's the only one who hates grand romantic gestures.
 * In Merlin Lady Morgana is usually decked out with elaborate jewelry to denote her wealth and status, in direct contrast with Guinevere, who usually ornates herself with flowers.

Music

 * The Jennifer Lopez song "Jenny From the Block" has the line "Don't be fooled by these rocks", although the video and her lifestyle did make the line seem empty.

Newspaper Comics

 * Jeremy in Zits is trying to ask a girl advice for what to give his mom for her birthday, and before he can complete his sentences the girl keeps interrupting "Jewelry. Yep, definitely jewelry." On another occasion, he bought his girlfriend Sara one earring with an I.O.U (a very tiny one that fit where the earring would go in the box) for the other one when he can afford it. Sara was nonetheless touched by the gesture.

Real Life

 * The "Affair of the Necklace" was a historical scandal where a con artist named Jeanne de Saint-Remy de Valois stole an extremely expensive diamond necklace, and tricked the jeweler into thinking Marie Antoinette was buying it. It's featured in lots of media, like the aforementioned Rose of Versailles and the movie The Affair of the Necklace with Hillary Swank as Jeanne.

Theatre

 * The song Glitter and be Gay from Candide is (almost) all about how much the character loves her flashy wardrobe, especially the jewels.

Toys

 * Barbie has loads of jewelry, and even has some in the Official Cosplay Gear sets.

Video Games
"(handsome voice) "Nothing says 'love' like a lump of carbon mined by wage slaves in Angola.""
 * Diamonds are a weapon in Dead Rising, although not very effective at first.
 * Redd White in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, is covered in jewelry and can make it sparkle just by showing it off.
 * The Final Fantasy series has Accessories/Relics which could increase stats of the user.
 * Final Fantasy Tactics a 2 has Scions, a group of accessories which the wearer can summon Espers which appear from Final Fantasy XII.
 * In the Harvest Moon series, it's often possible to have jewelry crafted from Orichalcum. It has no real use, but makes a good gift.
 * Parodied in Grand Theft Auto III radio ad.

Western Animation

 * In an episode of Goldie Gold and Action Jack, Goldie uses her pearl necklace as an impromptu seal on a magic spirit after the old seal was broken.
 * The Disney Princesses, especially with their "Jewel Princess" set.
 * As the name implies, Princess Gwenevere and The Jewel Riders used them for loads of things, from MacGuffins to Transformation Trinkets.