Getting lost in your loved one’s eyes has taken on a whole new meaning.
The latest sentimental social media trend sees people making jewelry to mimic the eyes of their beloved — but it’s not as creepy as it sounds.
On TikTok, Gen Zers are undertaking the DIY project that involves picking out beads that match the color of their loved one’s — or pet’s — irises and stringing together a bracelet. After heading to the craft store together, couples will either make a bracelet entirely comprised of their partner’s eye color to wear, or they’ll mismatch beads pairing their partner’s hue with their own.
“Never taking this off,” one enamored creator wrote in the caption of their video.
“Such a fun idea,” gushed another. “I love these bracelets so much.”
Experts say that the trend may just be the ultimate display of affection.
“To know someone that closely that you know their eye color is a sign of personal connection,” antique jewelry vendor Anne Bos, the owner of 21st Finds, told Business Insider.
“For instance, I know the color of my husband’s eyes pretty well, but I don’t know the color of my neighbor’s eyes — even though we chat quite frequently.”
Little do Zoomers know, this so-called trend actually dates back centuries.
Eye-inspired adornments have existed for thousands of years. In the 18th Century, for instance, hyper-realistc lover’s eye jewelry was particularly popular, and those madly in love would commission miniature portraits of their orbs to give as a gift, experts tell Business Insider.
It was believed to be a very intimate gift — as they say, the eyes are the window to the soul — and was worn as jewelry or tucked into folds of clothing or inside lockets, experts explained.
“They were sentimental pieces of jewelry created with the notion that an individual’s eye conveys something intimate and deeply personal about an individual,” art historian and author Graham Boettcher told Business Insider.
Now, Gen Z has adopted the age-old tradition with a modern spin, wearing the colors proudly in public.
Boettcher says this twist “adds that element of secrecy even with it being out in the open because only the wearer knows who it refers to.”
