How do we get most of our jewelry: personal purchases or gifts? With a few exceptions (Ivanka Trump would be one...), over 85% of women get their jewelry through personal purchases. Blueprint has put together a few tips on how to go about jewelry hunting, what to look for, where to go, and how to make it work.
- First....is your jewelry purchase about accenting an outfit or adding to your collection? The answer to this question tells us whether we can go online or in-store
- Any precious stone or jewelry that you hope to have for 'years to come' needs to be purchased in person
- If you love silver (like I do), consider jewelry like David Yurman that emphasizes silver but mixes designs with gold and semi-precious stones -- this creates more flexibility in your selection long-term
- The lighter or more delicate your jewelry is in appearance, the easier it is to go from day to night
Invest in a jewelry cleaner for silver and gold jewelry...at minimum, grab a cleaning cloth that can wipe away surface tarnish!- The air we breathe...the perfume we wear....the lotions we use all speed up the tarnishing process but, storing your jewelry properly helps to protect it. Get a jewelry box or case!
- (We hope this isn't news to anyone) Have diamond jewelry and likes appraised and insured!
- Tips: (1) elongate your neck or emphasize your decolletage by wearing v-necks and necklaces that rest on the breastbone -- (2) the larger your hand or wrist, the heavier your jewelry should be to avoid 'getting lost' on your hand -- (3) to remain professional, studs are always the best alternative -- (4) if you are making noise as you move, consider other adornment options -- (5) watches and earrings can be the two pieces that change the least as they are typically your biggest investment pieces -- (6) depending on what part of your outfit you want to highlight, don't wear jewelry that distracts -- (7) one statement piece is plenty
- Golden rule: max out at seven pieces of jewelry...earrings count as one (put on what you like and then take off one...Coco Chanel reminds us that simplicity is always best)
- Work jewelry: stick with the workhorses or classics.... with diamonds and pearls, you can never go wrong (even the artist formerly known as Prince sang about it)!
- Current trends: multi-strand necklaces, mixing metalware, combining textures,
- Websites to remember: etsy.com (handmade jewelry), charmandchain.com (new designers(, shopmosaiconline.com (high-end handcrafted jewelry), ylang23.com (special-priced designer jewels), yoox.com (eclectic pieces), madejewelry.com (inexpensive handmade jewelry using reclaimed metal)
