Origins and Meaning
What inspires Jewelry Names
Jewellery, apart from other objects, has intimacy built in. Worn close to the heart, passed down from parent to child, and buried with the dead, the sentimental value of jewellery dominates naming trends.
For those pieces used in TTRPGs, or other gaming systems, naming conventions often shift to be descriptive.
Descriptive Jewellery Names
When jewellery has been enchanted, and becomes associated with an ability, the name often changes to reflect the ability. The ring of invisibility (D&D), time-turner (Harry Potter), and Draupnir (Norse Mythology) are all named for their properties. Non-fantasy jewellery is also named for the purpose; the signet ring is named for the latin signum, which means ‘to sign’.
Names to Mark Provenance
Many gemstones (and the jewellery they are set in), are named to show the history and authenticity of the item. Naming these after a famous owner or where they come from adds a story that investors are willing to buy into. One famous example is the Krupp diamond, renamed the Elizabeth Taylor diamond after the actress’ death.
Fictional gemstones are also named in similar ways to show off the gemstone, like The Heart of the Ocean (Titanic), The Pink Panther (The Pink Panther), and The Blue Carbuncle (Sherlock Holmes).