Teach me how to buy jewelry!

[stochasticgirl]

Okay, I consider myself to be a fairly fashionable person, with a good mix of classic and modern pieces in my wardrobe, but I'm a complete dork when it comes to jewelry and accessorizing. Really, the only jewelry I have are 18-22k gold pieces that my mother's given me over the years. :o

Here's where I always get tripped up in considering jewelry though: because of my Asian skin tone, I prefer gold, and I also find myself biased towards precious gemstones over crystals or costume jewelry. So the jewelry I'm drawn to tends to be too expensive, and I end up not buying anything. On the other extreme, anytime I buy fashion jewelry at Target or wherever, I never wear it and end up giving it to Goodwill later.

To give you an idea of my taste, here are some Gurhan rings from Neiman Marcus that I love, but $860 is at least $760 more than I want to spend. :p

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/products/mh/NM-0GYR_mh.jpg

Any tips to finding good quality jewelry that won't cost me several hundred dollars a piece??

[laura]

I don't have any tips for what you are asking, but I'm interested to see if others do.

I basically have either "nice" stuff or trendy/costume stuff purchased from places like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, etc. I like their stuff okay for what I use it for, and their stuff goes on sale regularly and usually for about half off. I also love all of my pieces from http://www.carriedmader.com; she has a mix of prices, but most of my stuff from her is on the 'nicer' end.

[Amuse Bouche]

I was having a similar issue, where I couldn't get the type of stuff I wanted in the price point I wanted, so I started making my own.

[wendalah]

My fave tip: Buy real, and buy expensive, if you are doing classic jewelry (I only have diamond studs and my wedding rings in this category). For costume jewelry, take a day and go to the Rose Bowl swap meet to scout vintage jewelry. You can experiment with a lot of different pieces/looks at low prices, and nobody will have exactly what you have. All my costume jewelry is vintage.

[Ali]

I agree with Wendelah.

Also, I buy only that which calls to me. I don't have a lot of jewelry, but I have a few really nice pieces, which I wear frequently, and a few cheaper pieces, which I really love. I don't necessarily own any "trendy" pieces.

[stochasticgirl]

For costume jewelry, take a day and go to the Rose Bowl swap meet to scout vintage jewelry. You can experiment with a lot of different pieces/looks at low prices, and nobody will have exactly what you have. All my costume jewelry is vintage.

I love vintage jewelry, too. There was one time when I started to go a little nuts at an estate sale in Hollywood and the only reason I didn't walk away with gobs and gobs of stuff was because I fell in love with one relatively expensive piece and passed on the rest. Speaking of estate sales, Wendy, do you know (or any other LA gals) know where I can find good ones in LA? Or should I just stick with the Rose Bowl? I've been meaning to check that out forever anyway. :)

[ignutzz]

www.rubylane.com is a great online resource for vintage jewlery as well.

[maxandmolly]

I was having a similar issue, where I couldn't get the type of stuff I wanted in the price point I wanted, so I started making my own.
Me too! Conventiently enough, I also have a couple CC classified ads......and will copy anything you find a picture of, cheap! ;)

[Sue]

I work for a jewelry manufacturer (at least for the next week :) ) . The gold price has skyrocketed since the beginning of the year and shows no signs of slowing down, and retailers have been adjusting their retails to reflect it. A piece of jewelry will be significantly more expensive now than last year at this time and the heavier the piece, the more the retail will have gone up.

Bit of advice? Don't buy anything from the mall stores or department stores. They all work on high margins and most do not inspect their product. Best bet is to go to the warehouse clubs, they work on a relatively low margin and most inspect their product when it comes in. The downside is that the selection is usually limited. Also remember that a "name" does not always equal quality.

[wendalah]

I don't go to estate sales--too expensive usually. I would, honestly, start out at the swap meet and do some hunting there. Another place I always find great vintage jewelry is thrift and antique stores. There are tons of great ones in Palm Springs, and closer to home--the Valley (Burbank/Noho area).