If you’ve ever refused to take off a necklace belonging to your late grandmother, or felt a small ache after losing a ring from someone you once loved, you’re not being dramatic. A 1988 study by consumer researcher Russell Belk, ‘Possessions and the Extended Self,’ published in the Journal of Consumer Research, found that the things we own, including jewelry, often become part of who we are, not just accessories we wear.
In the abovementioned paper, Belk argues that the self extends beyond the body and mind. It reaches out into the things, the people, the places that we call ours. He refers to this as the "extended self." Jewelry is one of the few everyday objects that literally embody that idea, resting on the body itself, being frequently given as a gift, and rarely thrown away.
