[ps—Saks Off 5th always has great deals on Bicego at 60-70% off]
What's the longevity of Nordstrom/Bloomingdales fine jewelry brands (Ippolita, Roberto Coin)?
- Thread starter jjjlove
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I think it works in reverse too. THe huge popularity of the love bracelet among YouTubers and Instagrammers have reduced its one time status, IMO.
Somehow I"ve never found a style I wanted at Saks Off Fifth. But Saks has Friends and Family and lately has had great cash back at the usual sites and that's when/where I bought my last piece.
I have a Roberto Coin diamond cross pendant that I wear often. The diamonds are beautiful and sparkly and I love it. I got it at Neiman Marcus. My husband also has his eye on a RC pave heart pendant (also at NM) so I think I will be adding this piece for Valentine's Day. I do also love my VCA pendants (I have the vintage MOP and blue Sevres holiday pendant) as well as a couple of their Sweet bracelets, but honestly I can see myself adding more RC jewelry down the line (more than any other brand), due to the simple and elegant designs as well as the friendlier price point (compared to VCA and Cartier).
I love jewelry but the mark up is exponential. Add branding & it’s even more so. Jewelry is counterfeited & copied just like handbags. Cartier’s love line & VCA’s Alhambra don’t appeal to me anymore because I see it everywhere... whether real or copied - don’t know, don’t care. I prefer special pcs I don’t see everywhere though I do have a few popular styles ie. a Tiffany RTT heart tag necklace - but it wasn’t very costly. The store brands have some interesting things but I’d still rather shop locally or estate because their pricing for the name only doesn’t seem worth it to me. Tiffany & the others add a very high premium and it’s personal whether it’s worth it or not. I have a Tiffany legacy ring but I bought it second hand because the premium at the time I thought was outrageous even though I loved the design & unique cut of the stone. I also don’t think it can be duplicated correctly. Second hand was much more in line with a similar style ring somewhere else. So the store brands also don’t usually appeal to me for the very same reason unless it’s on super sale to the point it’s in line with other like jewelry.
If you go to pawn most said jewelry (say gold) the name doesn’t add any weight to the scale.
If you go to pawn most said jewelry (say gold) the name doesn’t add any weight to the scale.
@kbell I agree, very few brands hold value. VCA holds value better than most, but the brand mark-up is painful. I still say a high quality classic piece can be handed down and appreciated even if the brand name means nothing to the recipient. No one would notice or care that my pieces are RC, VCA (or any other brand), but if they are pretty, then they can be appreciated for their beauty regardless of brand. You did very well gettting a Tiffany Legacy ring second hand! It's one of my favorite Tiffany pieces!
So true. Never had any interest in the iconic pieces of Tiffany, VCA or Cartier and much prefer unique pieces either custom made or limited edition. I like that Marco Bicego is constantly coming out with new styles and limited editions and new materials. He also makes one of a kind pieces for the trunk shows. A fun line and high quality.Many would consider Roberto Coin, David Yurman and Ippolita in the luxury category. They all offer some high-end, beautiful silver, gold and diamond items. Personally I prefer to own a wide range of jewelry designers. The jewelry world would be a very dull place IMO if we all owned the same Cartier Love bracelets, Return to Tiffany tag bracelets and VCA Alhambra pendants.
Love Bicego. I do hope a brand like his will make it through this crisis.
I consider the brands like Roberto Coin, John Hardy, Ippolita, to be fashion fine jewelry and I do like some of their pieces. I see some fashion fine jewelry pieces selling second hand for more than what they sold for on discount at the department stores. And some styles have over saturated the resale market making them worth little on the original price. So really I don’t think there is any specific formula for buying fashion fine jewelry to determine whether it holds value. It depends on what someone else is searching for. All items that are resold, cars, houses, jewelry, luxe goods, are only worth as much as the next person is willing to pay.
I have DY cable bracelet. I think DY will be around for a long time. I also have some less popular Cartier pieces that will not hold their resale value. I hope the all the fine jewelry houses will stand the test of time. I'm sick of seeing the same ole' VCA, Cartier.. and the like. I prefer more interesting pieces. I still love VCA and planning to buy a a piece and I love Bvlgari and want many things from them so much... Maybe if I win the lotto! 
While I think top tier designers like VCA/Cartier/Harry Winston/Bulgari/etc still hold the most “value”, I also splurge on a few second tier designers...I have a few pieces by Roberto Coin, Stephen Webster and Sutra. I would consider some other designers who tend to use very high quality materials, and are still aren’t found everywhere, like Pasquale Bruni, De Grisogono, Temple St Clair, etc at that level. Designers who regularly use silver like DY and Ippolita, who do more mass production, or who often have sales - they’re still great quality, but it’s third tier, you’re paying for the design (and I happen to really like some of Yurmans designs).
I have a few pieces from Roberto Coin. They are diamond hoops, diamond bangles, and black and white diamond circle of life pendant. RC uses nice quality/clarity diamonds and you can’t go wrong with the classic pieces. Nothing sparkles as bright as high quality stones.
Quality products normally don’t wear out but rather go out of style. You can always repurpose the diamonds or precious stones for some other style that you love, but would hesitate to do that with some high end luxury brands.
Personally I like to wear pieces that are unique to me and make me smile. For some reason I don’t mind if I wear a handbag like LV that is popular, but jewellery needs to be a reflection of my style and I prefer spending my money on the classics that use high quality stones, not necessarily high end luxury brands.
I know that my daughter has her own minimalist style and probably would never wear most of my pieces, so forget about passing things down to the next generation as they will have their own style. I never buy things that I can’t wear on a daily basis and never save things for special occasions as there a too few of those.
One more thing.....I always buy my own jewellery with my own hard earned money and prefer it that way! I get what I want, when I want it and can afford it!
Quality products normally don’t wear out but rather go out of style. You can always repurpose the diamonds or precious stones for some other style that you love, but would hesitate to do that with some high end luxury brands.
Personally I like to wear pieces that are unique to me and make me smile. For some reason I don’t mind if I wear a handbag like LV that is popular, but jewellery needs to be a reflection of my style and I prefer spending my money on the classics that use high quality stones, not necessarily high end luxury brands.
I know that my daughter has her own minimalist style and probably would never wear most of my pieces, so forget about passing things down to the next generation as they will have their own style. I never buy things that I can’t wear on a daily basis and never save things for special occasions as there a too few of those.
One more thing.....I always buy my own jewellery with my own hard earned money and prefer it that way! I get what I want, when I want it and can afford it!
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