Marilyn Monroe once said in her famous song that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Although very beautiful, elegant, and expensive, diamonds are not your only option when buying luxurious jewelry for that special woman in your life.
Buying a jewelry piece can be a nerve-wracking experience for a lot of men mostly because they have no idea where to start.
Should you buy her a necklace? A ring? A bracelet? All three? Should it have stones in it, and if so, what kind? What should it be made of? These are just some of the questions that usually run in the heads of men when buying their loved ones’ jewelry. Some men even get so overwhelmed that they dismiss the idea of buying jewelry and go buy flowers instead.
If you are contemplating in buying that special woman in your life jewelry, below is a step by step guide to making sure that you buy the right jewelry that she will love and treasure.
Jewelry Basics
It’s assumed at this point that you already know your partner well, since most of the time, buying luxury jewelry is a very personal gift and best kept for serious relationships. The first thing that should be done is for you to find out what type of jewelry she likes. To do this, it’s helpful to ask yourself the following questions:
Does she wear necklaces? If she does, how long is it? And, does she wear pendants with it?
Are her ears pierced? What type of earrings does she usually wear – dangling earrings, studs or hoops?
Does she wear bracelets? If she does, what type does she like?
Does she love wearing rings that are bold? Or is she happy only wearing her wedding band and engagement ring?
Is she allergic to any metal?
In addition to these, you also want to look at her style so that you can choose the jewelry design that best fits her look. To do this you can take a look at the clothes that she wears, the colors that she prefers, or if she is into the minimalist or she likes to go and follow the latest fashion trend.
Should you buy a Ring, Necklace, Earrings or Bracelet?
At this point, the next thing that you might be asking is what type of jewelry you should get her – do you buy her a ring, a necklace, earrings, a bracelet, or maybe all of the above? The main thing that you should know in deciding is that women love symbolism and meanings. To help you out, here are the meanings of the ring, necklace, earrings, and bracelet.
Bracelet
A bracelet is often worn in the same wrist as the watch. This symbolizes that you are flexible when it comes to the time and attention that you give to her. It also means that you are there when you are needed the most.
Necklace
Giving your woman a necklace symbolizes the strong bond between the both of you, and giving her a necklace symbolizes your enthusiasm to make this bond stronger. A necklace symbolizes both the mind and the heart with the chain around the neck and the pendant lying on the chest.
Earrings
In addition to being a great accessory to accentuate the face, it also symbolizes your willingness to listen to your partner.
Ring
A ring is perhaps the most symbolic of the four because it represents a deep commitment and a sacred link and understanding between two people. A word to the wise- think carefully when giving a ring. Make sure you give it on the right occasion because you certainly don’t want a misunderstanding.
Choosing the right Jewellery Metal.
Choosing the type of metal is another whole discourse by itself, but to keep it brief, here are some of the basic metals that you are usually available for you to choose from.
• Stainless Steel. Usually very reasonably priced, stainless steel jewelry is hypoallergenic, durable, resistant to tarnishing, and overall a low maintenance jewelry.
• Silver, White Gold or Platinum. If your wife or girlfriend likes to wear white colored metal, you might want to give her jewelry that’s made out of silver, white gold or platinum. Of the three, platinum is the most expensive, but it’s also more durable, so it might be a better investment.
• Yellow Gold. Yellow gold is a classic and timeless and works well with everything.
• Rose Gold. This type of gold is becoming a favorite with the younger generation. It comes in pink or red and is different from the other gold types because of its copper content.
Also, remember that some metals work better with certain skin tones. If all else fails, check the jewelry that she usually wears, and take a clue from there.
What Gemstone do I need?
If you do decide to get luxury jewelry with a gemstone in it, here is where it gets a bit tricky. Usually, a diamond is what comes into mind when you mention the word gemstone, but diamonds can be expensive. If you find yourself loving the look of diamonds, but find the price to be a bit out of your price range, you can consider the following diamond alternatives.
• Moissanite was discovered by the French chemist Henry Moissan in 1893 in a meteor crater and has properties that are almost the same as a diamond. It’s sparklier and almost as hard as a diamond at a fraction of the price.
• Cubic Zirconia is another diamond replacement. But it would be advised that if you can, don’t go with this option as you can come across as being cheap.
• Lab diamonds have the same chemical compound as natural diamonds but are made in the laboratory and cost less than natural diamonds.
If the price is not an issue, you can choose to go with top gemstones like emeralds, diamonds, sapphires or rubies. Or you can also choose mid-range gemstones like amethyst, lapis lazuli, aquamarine, opal or citrine. All luxurious!
Gemstones To Match the Right Occasion
To further help you out in choosing the right type of gemstone, it might be of big help if you think of what type of occasion that you’ll be gifting the jewelry. Here are some common occasions and the suggested gemstones that you can consider.
Anniversaries
Anniversaries are one of the most meaningful occasions in every couples life. And usually, you want to go all out for special dates like the silver or golden anniversaries. Rubies are usually given for a 40th wedding anniversary. But, the general rule is that you want to go for the unique and special colored gemstones like blue zircon or lapis lazuli.
Birthdays
For birthdays, you may want to look at birthstones. Below are the different birthstones that correspond to each month.
• January: Garnet • February: Amethyst • March: Aquamarine • April: Diamond • May: Emerald • June: Pearl • July: Ruby • August: Peridot • September: Sapphire • October: Opal • November: Citrine • December: Turquoise
The Right Jewelry Size
In buying luxury jewelry, on top of everything else that has been already been discussed is to make sure that the size of the jewelry is proportion to her physique. Size, in this case, does matter. An extremely big and heavy ring will be heavy and probably dwarf a small finer, or a large earring piece will make a small ear even smaller, not to mention the large size might tear her ear.
When it comes to sizing, jewelry specialty stores will have size charts or some sort of measuring tool so that you can get the accurate size. But this only works if you actually have your loved one with you.
If you want to give the jewelry as a surprise, then getting the right size becomes a challenge. In this case, you can try several stealthy things to be able to get the size. The most obvious and easiest thing to do is simply to ask her friends or family her ring size. If they too have no idea, then you’ll have to get it yourself by either taking the ring or bracelet that she wears to the jewelry store to be measured and returning it before she notices or takes the measurement yourself using a string to get the circumference of the ring or the bracelet.
The worst case scenario is that you’ll have to take the jewelry to be resized. But, don’t worry it’s not the end of the world, and your wife or girlfriend will surely appreciate the effort that went into buying that piece of jewelry.
How to Buy Quality Jewelry?
Buying quality jewelry doesn’t always mean buying expensive jewelry from a top end jewelry store. That doesn’t make it automatically better than buying jewelry from other establishments or people.
Here are the following things that you need to check when buying jewelry so that you can be assured that you are getting value for your money.
• If you’re buying jewelry with gemstones, ask for a certificate of authenticity if its applicable. Ask for information like flaws, inclusions, as well as if there were treatments that were done on the stone.
• For metals, check the hallmark ( or symbols in the metal that usually indicated the purity, who made it, etc.), as well as the craftsmanship of the piece.