Story-telling is another key element. The narratives vary from the personal to the collective, but individual memories are often used to tap into universal themes. The domestic is a favourite. Gesine Hackenberg drills out circles from discarded plates, configuring them into necklaces which she presents on the original, now disfigured, platters. Iris Eichenberg examines the psychological effect of transition to a new culture by assembling materials from different elements of an interior such as flooring, wall coverings and furniture into brooches and neck pieces. Francis Willemstijn even uses old car parts to allude to her childhood spent in her father’s garage； contrary to expectation, they make exquisite jewellery.
This is jewellery offering a very different expression of identity. The wearer of such pieces challenges preconceived notions. It can include a whiff of intellectual snobbery, as the wearer can be seen as“buying a bit of the artist’s brain”.
自古以來，人們佩戴首飾是為了顯示地位、財富和身份。現在，佩戴首飾又有了別的涵義。熱忱的收藏家對當代首飾的看法也不一樣。當代首飾在探求材料和工藝的同時，也關注著文化內涵和敘事性。
對於鑒賞家來說，當代首飾是可以佩戴的藝術品。它對於創作首飾的藝術家來說，首飾的耐用性，和怎麼佩戴都是至關重要的。它集創作者的思想、熱情和工藝於一體，尤其以思想至上。任何東西都可以用來製作當代首飾：像鍛造品、回收的廢舊雜物、紡織品、塑料等等，甚至報紙也行。如果是含有貴金屬和寶石的東西，它們則很少以傳統造型亮相。收藏家主要是一些專業人士。設計師占了很大的比例，其中以男性為主。
幽默和顛覆性是此類首飾的本質內涵。這也許能解釋為什麼荷蘭這個歐洲國家會成為收藏家的指路明燈。因為這正像荷蘭藝術曆史學家和首飾館長Marjan Unger所說的，荷蘭人“喜歡混淆黑白”。他們雖具敏銳的商業頭腦，卻不喜歡顯露財富，更願意表現才智。
雖然荷蘭擁有一批引以為豪的高級首飾學校，但是在首飾製作（不包括鑽石切割）上幾乎沒有什麼曆史傳統。這樣，荷蘭的設計師就不必受製於傳統，因此他們可以自由地去嚐試。