Do you treat your jewelry of different $ value differently?

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S

SHHMOM

Member
Feb 13, 2013
1,026
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#1
My husband and I had a disagreement. I feel I want to now the basic range things fall in because I am not going to treat a 500 dollar piece the same as a 5000 dollar one. For example I may let my daughter use the 500 and not the 5000. He feels they should all be treated the same. Thoughts on how you personally feel with your own items.
 
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#2
That can be quandary. :thinkin: I have jewelry of a wide range of value; I have vintage & antique, fine jewelry, ect. in a wide variety of golds, platinum, & gemstones. As far as care, I pretty much treat all my jewelry the same...I will clean it before putting it away & I keep my jewelry stored in their proper place. I have many pieces regularly checked for prong wear, ect by my jeweler & I also have my jeweler clean the pieces a couple of times a year. Some of the really expensive pieces I have are stored in the safe. I tend to choose what jewelry I wear based on the occasion, what I'm wearing, & location of where I will be. ( I don't wear expensive pieces when my husband are out in the woods off roading in his Jeep.) I don't have any daughters to pass my jewelry to but I have loaned out pieces to family & friends for special occasions. I've never had a problem with something being lost or damaged. My SNL borrows the most & I did wind up giving her a pair of Tahitian earrings that she borrowed to wear to a wedding. She loved them so much & kept wearing them that I finally just told her to keep them & I bought another pair. They do look great on her. LOL

I guess it all comes down to your own personal feelings...If you trust the person & feel comfortable with letting them wear something you have, then that would be your decision. Is your jewelry insured for loss? If I had a daughter, I'm sure I would be letting her wear stuff all the time as long as it would be appropriate for her age & the occasion. I would probably start out with smaller $ items because when you get up to the more expensive or antique/collectible that can't be replaced, there's a lot of responsibility that goes with wearing something like that. If that makes sense. Now my mother, on the other hand, does not loan out her jewelry to anyone, except for the rare occasion of a wedding where someone is marring into the family. My SNL wore her Mikimoto pearls when she married my brother & my sister's DNL wore those same pearls when she married into the family. But my mother wanted the pearls back at the end of the evening...there was no returning them the next day. LOL Sorry for the long post, but I guess it's just a personal choice & what each one is comfortable with.
 
#3
I think you have to view items differently based on cost or even sentimental value. If something is easily replaceable, you are not going to be as worried about where you wear to it to or if you loaned it to someone and didn't get it back. I don't think you should ever feel obligated to loan something out, if you don't want to. There is always a chance it could get lost or damaged or that you won't get it back.
 
#4
I treat mine differently. . . same as I would a $10,000 car vs an $80,000 one!
I'd also treat a $15 beach bag differently than my Chanels :D
 
#5
I agree with the above comments. I treat my more expensive jewelry than my cheaper ones. The less expensive one you know can be easily replaced compared to one that cost more money. I know I wouldn't let anyone borrow my grandmothers jewelry that were passed down. It really does depend on you though.
 
#6
I'm of the same mindset. Things of higher value will be treated differently. That being said, this includes items of sentimental value too. Family heirlooms will not be lent to those outside the family, regardless of monetary value.

I'd be inclined to only let her borrow what I'd purchased, at least until I felt she was mature enough to take care of other pieces.
 
#7
For me it not only depends on the financial value of the piece but the sentimental value too.

For example, I have my great grandmothers Mikimoto pearl strand and matching earrings and my sister asked to borrow the earrings for a contest she was in. I allowed her to borrow them, however she's competing again and this time she's going to be in Brazil for the competition, so no way is she borrowing those earrings. Not only would they be difficult to replace, because they're antique and match the strand perfectly but they are also something I'm very sentimental about. This is the only whole piece of my great grandmothers jewelry that I have and I'd be really upset if a part of the collection was lost.

Most of the pieces that I give great care to hold some part of my family history. Another good example is my opal necklace, which used to be an opal ring that my grandad gave to nan (unfortunately I never met him). I had it reset into a necklace for my 18th birthday using the opal , the gold from the original ring and some gold and diamonds from my great grandmothers wedding ring. So once again a very sentimental piece, which is always stored carefully and no one is allowed to borrow (I'd probably lend it to mum though if she asked).

For me I think it's more about the sentimental value of my jewelry than it's actual value.
 
#8
I definitely treat and store jewelry differently. Anything with great sentimental value or over 500$ or so - gets cleaned and put away after every wear and stored in a safe spot. The balance I consider fun stuff and let my 16 year old daughter have free access to. So she can borrow anything, anytime as long as it returns it after wearing it. She has never failed to take good care of what she uses. She has her own selection of jewelry and as it grows I think she will wear less and less of mine. My higher end pieces she can borrow for special occasions and with my approval only.
I leave out things like my Pandora and Thomas Sabo bracelets, Michael Kors watches and jewelry, and a lot of fashion fun stuff.
There has never been an issue and she's learning how to care for her own pieces.
 
#9
I try to switch rings everynow and then but when I go out of town, I use my cartier ring. My husband doesnt like me to leave it home since its one of my most expensive splurge..its like i should always wear the one i couldnt afford to lost. I know i have other jewelry thats actually more expensive in value than my cartier but I love it that its the only one I actually bought new from the store itself. Nothing could beat the experience.
 
#10
I absolutely do treat things differently, and if your DH has a collecting interest of any sort he does, too, although he may not yet have thought about this. I have one category of stuff (not jewelry) that nobody gets to handle except me, and it's not just being a meanie, it's also that I wouldn't want someone else to have the burden of responsibility if something were to happen to the item.
 
#11
when it comes to jewelry i treat them differently to a certain extent. For example i will not wear my 10k VCA earrings to a shady place but a pair of 300 gold hoops i will wear. But when they are at home i will treat them the same i.e. regular cleaning, in a safe, etc. Just places that i wear the pieces will vary depending on the cost! Hope this makes sense.
 
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