Saraye Moshir Jewelry Store

[ Maghazeh Javaher Foroushi ]

Going to the jewelry stores was very exciting for my mother and her close family members. For me, going to store after store was torturingly boring. The jewelry was exhibited in glass cases and mirrored shelves. But I was most interested in where the jewelry makers were working. The work areas at the time were close to the displays but treated as separate and private.

The talented and experienced jewelry makers were sitting on the floor and they were working on necklaces, rings and bangles. The heat was provided by glowing coals in a pot. I couldn’t ask any questions because they called me “a meddling girl” and asked “Why are you standing here?”

A lasting memory of mine was first understanding that jewelry was a kind of investment for women. Women didn’t have bank accounts and their savings were mostly gold and jewels. Many times I was advised: “Don’t sell your gold stuff; It is the best investment for the time that you need money.” Actually women not only didn’t have bank accounts, the husbands didn’t share their wealth or income with their wives.

The most important stone was the emerald. Almost all women from comfortable families had ring decorated with diamonds inlaid around the emerald. Poor people had emeralds from Russia. The color was however quite different. Emeralds were especially important for Iranian girls who were about to get married.

Overall marriage was a kind business. The bride’s parents demanded jewelry (mehrieh: the amount of money that groom must pay to the bride), and ceremonies. Often the discussion became an argument. The cause for the brides family was about enhancing the bride’s value.

These things showed the bride’s prestige and the bridegroom’s ambition. I should mention that bride’s parents were supposed to provide a dowry for complete furniture and appliances. On the other hand, the groom’s family were not inclined to spend too much money on mehrieh.

Another precious object was Persian Gulf pearls. Pearls were cultured naturally. I was told that shells floated to the surface to collect rain so that pearls could be made. There were enjoyable stories about the men who could go down in the Persian Gulf to collect pearls. They put themselves at risk of drowning, going very deep to hunt the shells. Sometimes the shells contained a big pearl and sometimes it was empty or the pearls were not big enough or were not in good shape.

Turquoise was very famous in Iran. Some Iranians seem to believe that the turquoise from Mashad was the best in the world.

I remember very rich families and relatives who invested lots of money in jewels. They used them on things like smoking devices such as the charcoal pot and opium pipe, or tobacco pipe called Ghalyan. Museums in Tehran exhibit items decorated with these kinds of jewels, such as dishes or canes or crowns.

My mother, her aunt and cousins enjoyed going to Moshir-al-douleh mall to search for new jewelry, cosmetics, or perfumes. Iranian women were extremely fashion minded. They exchanged their gold and jewelry as a kind of recreation.