Defining a social status in a collective culture: the role of jewellery in contemporary China

Jewels are one of the oldest forms of personal expression. Frequently, jewels assume social meanings when linked with events, such as the achievement of milestones in life. However, they can also reflect personal patterns when they acquire connotations of self-expression. Moreover, they can be worn, as an expression of a fashion and style, or preserved as a store of value. They can be inherited or given away as gifts, as well as received during occurrences. In many ways, they can be part of people's lives and they can assume different roles. Nowadays in China they account for an important amount of Chinese's consumption, with a value of 88.45 billion U.S. dollars in 20201 . Even though the value shrank from the pre-Covid 19 data (108.45 billion U.S. dollars in 2019), the market generates the biggest revenues in the world and is expected to grow further in the future (Statista). With the advent of consumer society, sociological study of consumption has made massive research on consumption behaviour. In this regard, it is generally assumed that differential patterns in cultural consumption among individuals are related to their social stratification position. However, even if these studies have been broadly conducted in Europe and North America, there is a lack of academic work in this field regarding Asia and specifically China. Chinese people have been defined as a collective culture (Hofstede, 2010) in which it is highlighted the social value of a good. The aim of this work is to analyse the criteria followed by the Chinese consumers regarding the purchase of jewels, highlighting the importance of social value in a collective culture and, therefore, the way in which jewels contribute to the definition of a social status in this specific society. Is the cultural consumption in China strictly connected with the social stratification position as in Europe and North America? By analysing the consumption of jewels in China, this work aims to be a contribute to answer this question. The criteria vary according to age, gender, economic situation and cultural background. Therefore, they will be taken into consideration during a field research on Chinese consumers conducted through a questionnaire. Moreover, the point of view of some of the most experienced jewellery sellers in Italy, namely the shops on Ponte Vecchio in Firenze, will be presented in the end to complete the picture. In sum, this thesis aims to be a starting point for people and companies interested in the jewellery market in China. Understanding culture patterns and differences is crucial for westerners willing to deal with the international community, and China is one of the most important players today. Due to the global pandemic of the beginning of 2020, finding Chinese people to interview was a difficult task, and people that answered these questions did it during one of the darkest moments of human history. Therefore, the mole of data present for this study will just give some hints and ideas, with the hope that will inspire further analysis in this and correlated fields. As the coronavirus changed individuals anthropologically, new patterns in human behaviour will probably emerge in the next future.