Is costly jewelry worth it?
You might think “you can never be too rich or too thin”. But my mom’s advice was more along the lines of “you can never have too many shoes or too much jewelry,” and, being her daughter, who was I too argue.
Which brings me to the subject of my birthday. As it’s just around the corner, I went on a little stroll through the jewelry shops by my SoHo office, the idea being that the very gift my husband and son might want to give me as a surprise could surface, generously saving them a lot of time.
Now, for those of you who’ve shopped the neighborhood, you know this could have been a costly excursion. But a funny thing happened as I checked out a few pieces that startled me with their “pull-me-off-the-floor” prices. Well … they seemed much too trendy. I thought back to the jewelry inherited from my mom, which, except for a few pieces, seems to announce the era they came from — which is why they sit in the safe deposit box more than they do around my wrist or neck. Trying to sell them makes no sense either — in terms of my own lasting sentiment or their real value.
This brought me to how crazy it is to spend a lot of money on precious stones and metallics when there are so many other great options — wonderfully inventive designs using far less costly materials and, then, of course, there are those gloriously difficult-to- decipher fakes. When these go out-of-date and “don’t quite work” anymore, you don’t feel so badly.
I focused on how much more I wear the beads, organic, paper and porcelain pieces I love rather than the really good stuff pulled out for very special occasions … and, of course, how fortunate I am given the state of the world … and the economy … and …
That’s when I ran into a street vendor who had a necklace I couldn’t resist — made of copper, some silver-like thingamajigs and some other something — the cost was $55.00. But being a great businesswoman, the designer made it a real bargain at $50. Hmmm, $50 versus thousands for that real gold piece. No contest! I’ve been wearing it ever since.
Gosh. I hope my husband and son don’t read this post!
