I love indulging in jewelry, I consider them the best accessories a woman can have and I tell myself that they are a store of value. I’m eyeing a ridiculously expensive VCA YG with diamonds necklace, that is about 4x my monthly income 😳😁. I’m responsible financially and have solid savings and investing accounts. But how much is too much? what’s the max you’ll spend on jewelry (quote amounts or income ratio). I know we all have different financial situation but humor me.
Max you’ll pay for jewelry
- Thread starter punu
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A "store of value" implies it can be liquidated and will recover close to or the same amount. No secondhand jewelry, especially with diamonds, is guaranteed to be on par with what you paid; diamonds are famously prone to depreciation vs. retail. Would you be very put out if you couldn't in fact turn it back into equivalent currency? You could instead have the mindset that you'll wear it and enjoy, and that itself gives it significant equity.
Personally, I spend what feels right at any given time (nor would I publicly quote an amount or proportion.)
Personally, I spend what feels right at any given time (nor would I publicly quote an amount or proportion.)
The store of value comment means that jewelry pieces are valuable and this somewhat helps me justify spending such amounts 🙂, it has nothing to do with me wanting to recoup cost if I ever sell them.
Also VCA pieces have increased so much in value over the years that it’s now worth a lot more than I paid for.
Also VCA pieces have increased so much in value over the years that it’s now worth a lot more than I paid for.
This thread might be of interest to you:
forum.purseblog.com
Jewellery vs Net worth
I’m contemplating on purchasing a bracelet that would cost about 1% of our entire net worth. It seems like a totally crazy idea, because it also could be a downpayment for an inexpensive investment property. What do you tell yourself in a situation like this? Would it be too much money spent on...
forum.purseblog.com
Doesn't matter if it's high-jewellery or regular, the question isn't how much but, can I afford it and how much use can I get out of it?
With new VCA, the most important thing is the design and enjoyment. For investment I'd probably be looking at preloved Important or Magnificent jewellery.
Sometimes it feels like lots of little pieces stack up (pun intended) and can be worn a variety of way, and sometimes it's more like, BOOM, I want a major piece. I favour VCA's Deco and retro designs though, so if I had the money, I'd be hunting for a 'Zip' necklace.
With new VCA, the most important thing is the design and enjoyment. For investment I'd probably be looking at preloved Important or Magnificent jewellery.
Sometimes it feels like lots of little pieces stack up (pun intended) and can be worn a variety of way, and sometimes it's more like, BOOM, I want a major piece. I favour VCA's Deco and retro designs though, so if I had the money, I'd be hunting for a 'Zip' necklace.
I was in a very similar situation to yours when it came to purchasing my Chanel handbag. I had good savings and on track to purchase my first place, but my salary was very low and the handbag was 4x my monthly income. This was also back when the classic flap price was much lower than it is today.
Although I was good on all my savings I felt anxious about spending an obscene amount of money and even guilty for wanting something so ridiculously expensive. I could have used that for my down payment, but in the end I decided waiting another 4 months for my place wasn’t a big deal and just wanted the handbag so bad.
I gave myself a date to purchase by. As soon as I put a date in I also decided to switch jobs and get a better job that pays well so I don’t feel as anxious on making such a big purchase vs my monthly salary again.
It was the only time where I had purchased something more than my monthly salary. Fast forward to now my situation is a lot of different. I don’t set any limits but am conscious on expensive items I buy even if it’s under my monthly salary. I love jewelry and they’re also my weakness but as long I am consistent with my savings and my financial goals I indulge in jewellery or whatever else it may be.
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So far, my most expensive jewellery (VCA) I paid for is twice my monthly salary. Although I sometimes eye the ones that would cost 4-5 times my salary, I don’t think I will pull the trigger. Yet.
Basically max $ personally for me:
Bags - 1 month salary
Jewellery - 2 months salary
Watches - 2.5-3 months salary
interestingly how identical we "calculate" -at least so far
Bags: ("normal" bags, no Kelly Birkin or another holy grail): max 1 to 2 month(s) salary
Jewelry: 2 to MAX MAX MAAAAX 3 months salary
watches: not interested in them, so....
Bags: ("normal" bags, no Kelly Birkin or another holy grail): max 1 to 2 month(s) salary
Jewelry: 2 to MAX MAX MAAAAX 3 months salary
watches: not interested in them, so....
Things happen. I'm a klutz. I lose things. I'm only willing to pay an amount I'd be comfortable losing for any single frivolous item.
I've a matching set of Grisogono 'lightning'-shaped wg + blak/wht diamond earrings and ring. I wore them to my cousin's wedding, morning ceremony, then luncheon, then dancing +++++ till later and later. The earrings (post and clip) became more painful as the day turned to night. By the time the 'happy couple' hit the floor for the first dance, the earrings were killing me. I had to take them off.
10 years later I was still looking for the earrings. I'm sure somewhere on tPF I wrote I was resigned to the fact I'd lost them.
Last year, I found them again.
I even lost a Cartier lion ring my mother gave me. I wore it once, and then - no idea. There were times I thought perhaps I imagined that she gave it to me and lost my mind and not the ring.
I found that too, even more recently.
Moral of the tale, never give up looking, never give-up hope. You probably do what I do, put it somewhere so safe you end-up hiding it from yourself.
It doesn't matter how expensive or inexpensive things are, I absolutely hate losing/mislaying them.
You are giving me hope, I'm still wondering what happened to my ring I lost a couple of years ago! I've yet to pull out my washer and dryer (kind of an ordeal and a long shot, but it's only place I've not looked). I just really assume it's gone. Now I'm much more conscious of where I put my jewelry, and just consider the incident one of those pesky, life lessons!
I hate losing them as well, but I hate fretting over them more. If I’m more worried about the cost of the item than the actual item, it detracts from the enjoyment for me.
I lost a bracelet once, one evening out in town, it was a delicate little thing. Called the cab company, the different places I had gone to, tore my coat apart thinking it had fallen thru a hole in the pockets. Then I had to let it go wishing it a good life with the lucky person who found it.
Since then I’ve been careful and haven’t lost anything.
I think what @Minimalist_Chic said about feeling guilty about the cost vs your enjoyment is a good point to consider when thinking about such an expensive purchase.
I immediately had a similar thought regarding my ring. Losing the ring was a lesson for me, and hopefully found by someone who either absolutely loved it, or very much needed the funds it could bring. I considered it a donation to the universe which works in mysterious ways!
Back to your initial question, I don't really set limits (other than being able to buy things outright, and not carry any balance to own). For me, it totally depends upon current circumstances, how much I love the piece, how hard it is to find, etc... I just think my purchases balance out over time. A larger purchase may mean I make fewer other discretionary purchases for a while. If you have a wish list, have a look at it and decide what would make you happier and/or more comfortable, buying the one big item now, or buying a number of smaller items over a period of time. Also, I tend to insure higher value and/or hard to replace items. For me, the benefit of the cost per year to insure is the freedom to use and enjoy the piece with less worry.