Best Jewelry Decisions You've Ever Made?

What an interesting thread! My best jewellery decision was to get into colour theory and understanding which metals suit me best. For years I was wearing only gold because I guess it was more in fashion and that's what I saw everywhere - I didn't even stop to think if it's flattering on my skin. However, as a muted soft summer type I look much more harmonious and radiant in silver! Shiny yellow gold is way too warm and overpowering on me.

It now looks so obvious and natural to me that I should wear silver, but somehow I was blindly stuck with gold for years.
This is a neat way to frame a "best decision"!
 
I think this correlates with this other thread. Everyone learnt something in this journey!
 
The ultimate luxe jewelry experience, I think, is having one, at most two signature pieces you adore and wear every day, that have been custom-made for you, and only you, according to your very own wishes, from design to each material to the uniquely personal end result ;)
I just had my first fully custom piece made and wholeheartedly agree. It’s my most favorite piece of jewelry I’ve bought.
I can’t agree enough with these comments. Having pieces made specifically for you will combine emotional importance and personal style in a way that no mass manufactured luxury piece can - no matter how beautiful or expensive.
Diamond shrinkage…it’s real! I see posts all the time about this especially with studs, TBs and e-rings. IMHO, get the biggest carat weight, best specs (4 Cs) you can afford. Find a good jeweler, you trust, that offers an upgrade service.
Someone needs to come up with a cure for this disease immediately. :lol: Because it has me in a chokehold! One minute you’re thrilled with a piece. The next you wonder why in the world you “settled” for it and are back to get it’s replacement. So always get the largest, most high quality stones you can afford that also makes sense for the piece and your body size.

And, don’t believe the myth that lesser quality diamonds are ok in earrings, bracelets, etc. :rolleyes: The color, cut, and clarity of stones matter across all pieces you’re wearing. You’ll be frustrated with a sparkly, fiery engagement stone paired with a slightly cloudy or faintly yellow tennis bracelet. At most, I would drop one color and/ or one clarity grade. And, honestly, I don’t even do that anymore. The stone(s) have to be right or I just don’t need the piece
1. Don’t buy costume jewelry. Invest in real gold and good quality materials.

2. Sizing matters. Pay attention to sizing and don’t buy things that aren’t sized to your body. Nothing looks worse than an oversized bracelet or mismatched bracelets of different sizes.

3. Envision what your ideal jewelry collection looks like and work toward that. I like to keep wishlists and I also keep in mind that my pieces need to work together cohesively. I buy only a couple of fine jewelry pieces a year but over time, you will have a good collection.

4. Don’t wear fine jewelry to bed or in the shower. If you take care of your pieces, they will last much longer. If you wear them 24/7, just be mindful that you will have to do repairs and that will cost you to maintain the item.

5. Better save to buy what you truly want, what makes you happy, than to settle for a cheaper version. You’ll still want the expensive one.
Agree with everything said here!! Adding a few other points:

• I prefer non branded fine jewelry to branded. I get larger stones at the same high quality in unique styles for less money. It’s win/win/win/win.

• Buy what works for YOU! I have long hair so I prefer hoops or drop earrings and will never own studs. I looooove bracelets but don’t own/want a watch. I don’t typically like colored stones. But you may have a passion for ear cuffs, chokers and yellow sapphires. Buy those things. Who cares what anyone else likes!

• Buy for love of the piece. Jewelry isn’t an investment.

• Fight me over it but I will never own lab created diamonds. In alignment with that, much of my collection is derived from preloved stones and estate items to limit supporting this brutal and bloody industry as much as possible. You can easily have preloved stones and settings reworked into your perfect modern piece.
 
• Stop buying silver

• Never buy costume jewelry

• Never lower my diamond quality standards just because the stones are smaller, to be used as an accent or in non ring items like bracelets.

• Get a full set of “foundational” items in each of white, yellow and rose gold (diamond RHR, diamond bracelet, bangle bracelet, necklace, diamond hoops) and add from there. Coordinate style within a gold color base set but don’t matchy matchy across color base sets so each is unique from the others.

• Don’t bother with pearls

• Don’t buy any super popular branded fine jewelry items.

• Develop a relationship with a great jeweler even if you have to fly in to buy from them for the bigger items. Keep them honest by getting competitive quotes on items.

• Give into my love of non round diamonds. I really adore oval, radiant and emerald cut diamonds.

• Be pragmatic and sell off / gift lower quality items Mr. Sparkle bought me when we were barely out of college that I never wore. This was tough but great in the end.

• Allowing myself to be whimsical and spend good money on pieces that are fun and make me giggly happy. Every piece doesn’t have to scream “classic”.
 
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One of the most important things I have learned that several posters have already mentioned is the importance of carefully thought out purchases.
I used to buy jewelry without thinking about how it would fit in with my other pieces.
I now try to buy pieces that work together; I don’t buy matching sets, but pieces that compliment each other when I wear them.
Diamonds look good set in any metal but other colored stones I tend to like being set in a complimentary metal color, such as morganite which looks stunning set in rose gold :smile:
I also print up photos of pieces I am thinking about buying and store them somewhere so I can plan and coordinate better like another poster mentioned. I find when my pieces go together well I get to wear my pieces more often and they don’t languish in my jewelry box.
My tastes have changed over the years; I used to love necklaces and now I am all about bracelet stacks.
What I usually do nowadays is go through all my jewelry and place what I want to wear for the week in a smaller jewelry box by my nightstand; I try to rotate weekly so that I get more wear out of my pieces and enjoy them more. I will challenge myself to make a piece work if I haven’t worn it much lately and it’s fun to figure out how to make it work with other pieces. It also helps me spend less as it reminds me how much jewelry I already have, haha!
Buy pieces that compliment your skin tone. You will wear them more. For example, 18k yellow gold doesn’t look good against my skin; 14k is perfect.
 
I think this correlates with this other thread. Everyone learnt something in this journey!
This is the same thread!