Jewelry Buying Guide

How to Buy Jewelry?

The concept of jewellery implies fashion, ornamentation, and adornments. But jewellery is much more than just that. It reflects your personality and shows what you value in life. It defines your style through colourful stones and gem jewellery.

Coloured precious gemstone jewellery is the latest fashion. Coloured gemstones are worn in rings, earrings, necklaces, pendants, and bracelets by everyone. If you like to own an exceptionally beautiful and exclusive piece of jewellery, you should only consider gemstone jewellery. A piece of coloured gemstone jewellery will distinguish you as a class apart from the crowd that wears gems like diamonds. The best way to go around shopping for a special kind of jewellery is to go to the Internet, look at the exquisite designs of coloured gemstones or diamonds on white or yellow gold jewellery and select the one that matches your style.

A piece of coloured gemstone jewellery will distinguish you as a class apart from the crowd that wears gems like diamonds.

• You are looking at gems and are shown, or viewed one on the Internet, an evening Emerald at a price much lower than what you would expect to pay for an Emerald of the same size. Would you buy the emerald and know what you are buying?
• You are admiring a piece of gold jewellery and are told it is 14 Karat gold. Do you know what marking to look for to ensure it is solid 14 Karat gold, not rolled gold, gold electroplate, or gold wash? Do you, in fact, know what 14 Karat and other terms Mean?
• You notice that brooches (or Pins) are the latest fashion in jewellery and are being shown in all fine jewellery stores as well as online jewellery stores. Do you know which you would buy and which might be better, regardless of what you can afford?
• You are cleaning an opal ring, a pair of diamond earrings, and a string of pearls. Do you know the best way to clean them, and would you clean them together or separately? Also, how would you store them after cleaning?
• You want to buy a diamond ring. Would you look for a fine jewelry store or a fine online jewelry store where each jewelry piece is clearly marked to show price and quality, a store offering a sale of diamonds, a store where you might be able to bargain for a lower price or even a store offering of a packet of diamonds at a wholesale price? For that matter, do you know what the four Cs of diamonds are?

How to buy jewelry is only the beginning of what you need to know about jewelry.

When you buy a car, you buy the one you like and can afford. The purchase is emotional as much as it is practical since cars, in some way, are extensions of ourselves. In addition, you know what you are buying, especially if you are buying a well-known brand luxury car. There may be features in other cars that resemble or imitate the best of the best, but the genuine article is usually unmistakable. You know what to look for, what to expect, about what you are going to pay, and even where to go buy the car.

Fine furs have more of a mystique than the average car, and they may seem more risky to buy. Yet, with time and patience, you can learn to differentiate between furs and distinguish fine furs from inferior ones. Granted, you will never have the expertise of an experienced furrier, but you will be able to learn the difference between mink of an inferior quality. In short, you can easily learn what to look for, what to expect, what you are going to pay, and where is the best place to buy the fur.

Both an expensive fur and a fine car are far more than purchases to keep you warm and provide transportation. They are also luxuries and status symbols. At the same time, the primary reason for the purchase is practical; you buy the car to drive and the fur to wear. You do not consider either an investment that appreciates in value. The criteria are that you like what you buy, that you have a use for it, and that you can afford it, although you want to get the most for your money.

Jewelry should be bought the same way, regardless of whether it is fine jewelry of Karat gold, platinum, or silver, has precious gems, or is costume jewelry. Even fine jewelry, which is a luxury item and can be as much a status symbol as a sable coat or a Rolls-Royce, although far more permanent and enduring, should be bought because you like it, can use it, and can afford it. Jewelry, after all, is a form of adornment and decoration.

One criterion you do not want to use for jewelry, any more than you would use it for buying a car or a fur, is whether the jewelry is a good investment or not. Some Jewelers, who are reputable and reliable in other respects, offer jewelry as “an investment.” Fine jewellers. In general, however, I prefer to point out that jewelry is not really an investment except in beauty. Jewelry, in fact, is a purchase, just like a fur coat or a car. You should appreciate it, of course, although appreciation in that sense is not the same as the appreciation of an increase in the value of an investment.

What you should buy in fine jewelry, particularly platinum and karat gold, depends on you, your lifestyle, and your preferences. You may be a woman who does not feel dressed without earrings, in which case you may want gold or diamond earrings that you can wear often with enjoyment. Or you may be a man or woman whose taste runs toward rings. A necklace, pendant or bracelet could also be indispensable.

In any case, shop around. Look at styles and prices before you buy. Get an idea of what jewelry costs and how that compares to what you have to spend. Once you see an item you like, check its price against the prices of similar items in other jewelry stores or online stores. The major purpose is to give you an idea of value and to help you be satisfied, in all respects, after you have made the purchase.

Look in jewelry stores, boutiques, and the better online jewelry stores that often carry fine jewelry. But do not look for, expect, or wait for sales. The finest jewelry stores rarely discount fine jewellery. If a style does not sell, it is more profitable for them to melt down the metal and reset the gems than it is for them to sell at a big discount. Fine jewellery is like no other luxury purchase in this respect since the components can be reused.

Stores other than the finest jewelry stores (or online) may offer jewelry at a discount. It may be a style that has not sold well, the stores may be willing to make less profit, or their overhead may be less. These are legitimate reasons to discount the price of fine jewelry. However, if the discount is much over 25%, you should ask, “80% or 50% off of what price?” Despite laws prohibiting misleading advertising and the stand of reputable jewellers’ associations against it, there are still fraudulent advertising and selling practices going on.

Author: Bijan Aziz

Have any questions regarding the topic “How to buy jewellery”? Feel free to comment below.

To learn about “The Differences between Natural, Stabilised, Enhanced and Reconstituted Turquoise”, click HERE