Some people buy jewelry to collect. Some only wear it on special occasions.
I'm a little different.
I buy things I like and use them every day, to the point where they age over time. Perhaps that's why my HELIOS items are no longer as shiny as when they were new. They have small scratches, the silver has tarnished, and some aren't even used for their original purpose.
But that's precisely what makes them special.
I first learned about HELIOS in 2019.
What caught my attention wasn't the bold, strong designs, which are the brand's familiar image, but a ring named Hanoi. On its surface was an image of Turtle Tower.
I still remember the feeling of seeing it for the first time. Perhaps it was the first time I saw a Vietnamese silver jewelry brand incorporate the country's cultural symbols into its designs so seriously and meticulously. As someone who appreciates handcrafted items, I was almost immediately convinced.
The Hanoi ring was the first item I bought from HELIOS. Back then, I ordered it via Facebook, when HELIOS wasn't as big as it is now. Looking back, it's been almost seven years. After that, I didn't buy more just to collect. Nor did I wait for each new HELIOS collection. Simply put, whenever I encountered a design I liked, I brought it home.
And so, the number of HELIOS items grew without me even realizing it.
The interesting thing is that very few items are used by me in the way they were originally intended.
Around 2023, I bought a goat head pendant and decided from the start to turn it into a car key chain. To this day, it's still there. Every day it goes with me to work, on business trips, bumping against keys, pant pockets, tabletops... The once shiny silver gradually tarnishes over time.
If you're someone who likes to keep things new, you might feel a pang of regret.
But I find joy in it. It shows that it's being used meaningfully.
The same goes for the Samurai pendant.
Instead of wearing it as a necklace, I attached it to my backpack tag. Working in aviation, a backpack is almost an inseparable companion on business trips. Some days I leave home before the city wakes up, and some trips I arrive back when the clock has already ticked past midnight. That tag has accompanied me on countless business trips. Sometimes, looking back at photos taken at the airport or hotel, I realize it was always there, quietly appearing in so many moments I hadn't noticed before.
Even HELIOS's cigar box has never held cigars. It stores my favorite pens. Some items don't necessarily have to be used for their original function. As long as they fit into my life, that's enough.
There's one thing I really like about silver. It's that silver doesn't stay new forever.
Some people like to polish it to keep it shiny like new. I don't. I like watching the silver darken over the years, I like the small scratches that appear after bumps, or the worn, polished spots after thousands of times being handled, because each mark is a part of the story.
Looking back almost seven years since that first Hanoi ring, what I remember isn't how many items I've bought, but where they've been with me.
Some items are on my car key chain every day.
Some accompany my backpack on business trips.
Some still sit on my desk, holding my favorite pens.
They're not in a display case. They're in my life.
I always think an item is only truly valuable when it's used. Some items are kept in a cabinet to always stay new, but mine are the opposite. They age with me.
And after almost seven years of looking back, I don't see them as old.
I just see that they have more stories.
