Jewelry you are glad you DIDN'T buy...

[LaraOnline]

Lara, totally agree with you, value can be multifold and emotional value should never be underestimated, I own many pieces that I hold very dear and have very high emotional value to me. I also agree that value does not necessarily come from a low purchase price to the owner, if e.g., I was gifted a Cartier Panthere bangle, then I would certainly not complain.) I am not normally into brands so much but there are certain pieces from certain designers I absolutely admire and if I admire one's work, I am happy to wear it even though I make my own too. I think I am an exception to the rule because first and foremost I am a jewelry lover.

I do have regrets when it comes to not buying jewelry, stones, etc. but one cannot have everything.

Yes absolutely one cannot have everything.
In some ways it would be a great shame to have too many lovely things because some would be neglected and never worn!
Beautiful pieces should be appreciated, ideally.
One reason why I have held back on a tennis bracelet slightly as I am worried that it might be put away for a lot of the time.
But I do appreciate a degree of rotation in my lovely things.

So too with brand names. While I do appreciate brand names to an extent, it is a matter of the brand speaking to me both as an overall label and with the product at hand. I like to think I present myself and speak for myself so I do not like badged items.
My attitude is probably reinforced by my surroundings as I don't live in a highly urbanised area, so the communication of branding is to some degree lost.

But it is fun to access the creativity and yes luxury that can come with a brand name.

 

[Sunstorm]

Lara, I doubt that your tennis bracelet will be put away, I rotate things too like you and I wore mine daily for months, then changed to my Art Deco watch as I rarely wear too many pieces together at one time but still wore it out for evenings but most wear theirs daily. You do not have to wear it daily to really appreciate it. My necklaces are not worn daily, only with the right dresses and I love them to pieces. Sorry, I should correct what I just said, I do appreciate brands, I buy brandname clothes, shoes, purses but when it comes to jewelry it is different for me but perhaps if I was not making my own, I would potentially buy more branded jewelry. I still have some preowned branded jewelry. I do think when it comes to tennis bracelets and the like though the best value you can get is buying high quality diamonds and having it custom made instead of buying one branded but we all differ and perhaps this is not the way you want to go about it. Most importantly, you deserve it girl, have no doubt about that!

 

[Huldak]

This.

I tried it one day during a Single Stone sale at a St. Louis jeweler. Such a big diamond! We were tired of the shopping process, and we were drinking wine ... fortunately I had the presence of mind to say "I just need to run this by pricescope." Thank you pricescopers!

 

[kenny]

I'm really glad I didn't buy these:







The popping zit ring:

 

[AprilBaby]

I really wanted a cartier trinity ring. Glad I didn't get it, it's gorgeous on others but not on me. I wanted a diamonds by the yard so I got a cheap imitation to try and the rolling over of the stones drove me nuts. Glad I didn't spend the money on the necklace.

 

[cflutist]

Glad that I didn't buy a strand of Tahitian black pearls or the golden south sea pearls that I saw when visiting the islands of French Polynesia. Probably would not have worn them very much.

What I regret not buying was a beautiful boulder opal pendant that I saw in Ketchikan Alaska. At the time I thought no because I already had another boulder opal pendant. But unlike diamonds, each one is visually unique.

 

[Sunstorm]

I am sorry, I mean nothing bad but I could not let this go without a comment that unlike diamonds, opals are visually unique. Nothing could be farther from the truth when it comes to the part about diamonds. Compare a 1 carat red radiant to a 26 carat fancy intense blue pear or a 5 carat K OEC to a 1 carat D super ideal RB like a CBI to a 2 carat Octavia each being totally unique and gorgeous and entirely different. I think that there is potentially one of the greatest if not the greatest variations within diamonds. I know what you meant, you meant comparing G rounds to G rounds or something along those lines but even then there can be great variations. One of the things that draws me to diamonds so much besides there unparalleled life performance is the varieties within them, especially within my favorite FCDs. Pearls, opals, sapphires, etc. etc. are all very unique but you will not find as much variation within certain gems as you will within diamonds. e.g., emeralds are always a shade of green. I love colored stones but I am quite convinced that they are no more unique than diamonds are. You can always have more diamonds because of this. I own many RBs, some pears, an oval most colorless and a couple of really nice fancies but I am still yearning for a chunky cushion, an OEC and the list goes on. Jewelry design multiplies the variations.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I am glad I didn't have one of those key pendants made. I know. I wouldn't have worn it long.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I can't really think of many examples of this, but I guess a Cartier Trinity ring could qualify. I considered buying one in NYC, but I just didn't pull the trigger. I really would have rarely worn it, because I would have only worn it as a wedding set substitute, and really, I wear my set almost every day.

I really have to be careful not to buy too much more, because I am a creature of habit and tend to wear the same things almost every day. I could really be content with my e-ring and band, Cartier watch, diamond studs, diamond cross necklace, and my 36" platinum DBTY necklace, and I guess my Beaudry RHRs. I have other things that are more rarely worn but loved, and I'd never want to part with them.

 

[ringmaven]

A pave engagement ring. I think the tiny stones would've fallen out and driven me crazy!

 

[thecat]

Big pearls. I love the look of huge pearls, and I love seeing them on others. But I've come to realise that I like small pearls on myself.

 

[Rhea]

I really have to be careful not to buy too much more, because I am a creature of habit and tend to wear the same things almost every day.

This. I like things and go searching for them and if a really good price I sometimes buy them. The other day I was cleaning out my jewellery box and DH asked me why I have 5 ruby eternity rings and he's never seen me wear any of them. Ummm...

 

[Jambalaya]

I'm glad I didn't buy the Cartier sweet trinity necklace. For me, it's just too expensive for what it is, and Blue Nile has something really very similar for a couple hundred dollars.

 

[iLander]

Years ago, before PS, I saw a stunning emerald pendant in a jewelers window. I went in, and they said it was a Chatham emerald, and I could have it for a $1000 off, only $9000 for me, special deal. I didn't spend the money, it was too much.

SOOO glad I didn't! Come to find out Chatham emeralds are lab created stones, synthetics! They acted like it was the name of a mine or something. I look back and still can't believe they were going to sell me $300 worth of goods for Nine Freaking Thousand Dollars. So many jewelry stores are just scams.

These days it's even worse; so many stores insist on saying "natural" stones when they're selling cooked, treated, artificially colored stones (that are for sale for pennies on ebay). They sell them for thousands. I'm glad I found PS's Colored Stones forum.

 

[Zizzy]

The pave, halo engagement ring I thought I wanted. I still think they look amazing on others but fortunately I tried one on and it didn't suit me. I changed my preference to a RB solitaire on a pave band and the Bloke surprised me with a plain solitaire. I'm so pleased he did because I'm obsessed with cleaning my ring and the pave would have really bugged me.

I have a beautiful Cartier eternity with shared prong diamonds (30 pointers?) it looks amazing and I'm wearing it a lot but not everyday. Pave just isn't an every day thing for me.

 

[marcy]

Good idea LLJsmom!

I love the pretty bezel set diamond and gemstone bands that are from many of the popular PS vendors. They look fantastic in the pictures but the gem size is very tiny and I know I'd regret buying them.

 

[AGBF]

I just read this thread for the first time. I feel kind of lost. Maybe I should start my own thread about that topic, but it has never seemed worth it. I do not wear any jewelry at all (except for a very cheap watch) except for on a special occasion. I love a few of my pieces. I have started to wonder if buying most of the pieces I own was a waste of money. (I say this as I am commissioning two more 24K gold bangles for a set of bangles I own!)

One thing I did not manage to get was a 3-carat (or slightly larger) high color and high clarity ideal cut diamond solitaire ring. For a while I thought I had to have one and was trying to sell my other high quality pieces in order to buy one. Then it all became too much. It took too long to sell them through a local jeweler on commission and it was too much trouble.

If I had managed to swing buying one, I might be happy to have the ring, though. My jewelry pieces containing my high quality diamonds seem to be among my favorite pieces.

Deb/AGBF

 

[Tanzigrrl]

A Cartier Trinity.

I love them. I LOVE how they look. I wanted one and tried it on and ... nothing. I thought to myself, well, maybe I just don't like it on my ring finger stacked with my 5-stone band. Plausible. So, a month or so later, I tried it on again in a Cartier boutique on my middle finger - on both hands. Then I tried it on in my pinky size. It just doesn't look right on me. I can't even describe why. It looks like I'm wearing my friend's ring or something. Whenever I see them worn I think they're just beautiful and I drool over the Cartier Trinity threads here, but on me, it just doesn't work. I'm glad I didn't buy one. Something to admire from afar.