Sometimes I read the reviews for diamond jewellery on the Blue Nile website. Occasionally, I come across a review where an expensive piece of diamond jewellery has been bought for a child.
There was one piece quite a while ago - I think it was a DBTY style costing about 2k - that had been bought for a five-year-old. And thanks to a gorgeous tennis bracelet currently being shown on SMTB, I was just perusing BN's selection of diamond bracelets to see - hypothetically - what BN charges for such an item.
A 3-carat, 5k diamond tennis bracelet had been bought for a niece's sweet sixteen. Now, I didn't grow up in a really wealthy family, so this does seem a little extravagant to me. And even though I could afford to buy this for my niece now, I wouldn't, because my sister won't be spending over 5k on her daughter's sweet sixteen, and also she couldn't afford to return the gesture for kids of my own. So it still wouldn't fly in my family, even though we're not at all badly off these days.
However, it's not just the money. In my world, and according to my own values, expensive diamond jewelery of multiple carats is either bought by adult women who have worked hard to afford it, or is given to grown women in recognition of the time and sacrifices they have made as partners and/or parents. My point is, to me, it's very much an adult purchase, and I don't mean just anyone who is 18, I mean people who have worked hard in the adult world for quite a few years.
It just seems that giving jewellery this expensive to someone who was 15 only yesterday seems a great way to spoil them. Actually, I was pretty appalled when I read the review. Yeah, maybe I'm just jealous, and perhaps I really am, because I would have loved gifts like that and certainly have never received many in my life except my engagement ring and a few inherited pieces. But I don't think it's ONLY jealousy. I really feel that youngsters should not have those things showered on them because of issues like spoiling them, not teaching them that they need to work hard for such luxurious extras, that at her age she probably won't appreciate it anyway because how can someone who's never held down a job with a demanding boss and paid all the bills appreciate how much it takes to save 5k after you've paid for all the necessities in life, etc etc.
ETA: Doesn't it also set an unhealthy standard? I mean if she's getting 3-carat gifts for sweet sixteen, imagine the goods her future husband will have to come up with? And what if she gets one of those husbands who doesn't spend money on jewellery at all?
What do YOU think?
There was one piece quite a while ago - I think it was a DBTY style costing about 2k - that had been bought for a five-year-old. And thanks to a gorgeous tennis bracelet currently being shown on SMTB, I was just perusing BN's selection of diamond bracelets to see - hypothetically - what BN charges for such an item.
A 3-carat, 5k diamond tennis bracelet had been bought for a niece's sweet sixteen. Now, I didn't grow up in a really wealthy family, so this does seem a little extravagant to me. And even though I could afford to buy this for my niece now, I wouldn't, because my sister won't be spending over 5k on her daughter's sweet sixteen, and also she couldn't afford to return the gesture for kids of my own. So it still wouldn't fly in my family, even though we're not at all badly off these days.
However, it's not just the money. In my world, and according to my own values, expensive diamond jewelery of multiple carats is either bought by adult women who have worked hard to afford it, or is given to grown women in recognition of the time and sacrifices they have made as partners and/or parents. My point is, to me, it's very much an adult purchase, and I don't mean just anyone who is 18, I mean people who have worked hard in the adult world for quite a few years.
It just seems that giving jewellery this expensive to someone who was 15 only yesterday seems a great way to spoil them. Actually, I was pretty appalled when I read the review. Yeah, maybe I'm just jealous, and perhaps I really am, because I would have loved gifts like that and certainly have never received many in my life except my engagement ring and a few inherited pieces. But I don't think it's ONLY jealousy. I really feel that youngsters should not have those things showered on them because of issues like spoiling them, not teaching them that they need to work hard for such luxurious extras, that at her age she probably won't appreciate it anyway because how can someone who's never held down a job with a demanding boss and paid all the bills appreciate how much it takes to save 5k after you've paid for all the necessities in life, etc etc.
ETA: Doesn't it also set an unhealthy standard? I mean if she's getting 3-carat gifts for sweet sixteen, imagine the goods her future husband will have to come up with? And what if she gets one of those husbands who doesn't spend money on jewellery at all?
What do YOU think?