Anyone else the only blingoholic in their social circle?

[pancake]

By PS standards, my collection is modest. (I have only been here for a year though, so give me time ) I do, however, have a few pieces and am starting to collect loose stones.

My interest/obsession with diamonds is COMPLETELY solitary in my social circle. I have wonderful friends; my girlfriends are now mostly engaged or getting married and they love their engagement rings but not one of them has expressed any interest beyond their actual engagement ring - and even then, the technical side of things is total dross to them. As soon as the conversation goes beyond "ooooooh" they lose interest.

I imagine I am not alone on PS in being the "lone diamond obsessor" amongst IRL friends.

Come on, spill!

 

[shihtzulover]

Yes! I only have one diamond (and that's my engagement ring diamond), unless you count really small diamonds in other pieces of jewelry - all less than .10 carat. Still, none of my friends really care about the kind of engagement ring that they receive, or about the 4 'C's.

 

[oneandahalfrock]

Me me me!
It's so frustrating! I'm in my late 20's and recently several friends became engaged/married, and only 1 of their SO's asked me for help, even though they all knew I was a sparkle fiend...
One of them did well, although he totally over paid, but I don't think the other did so great- though his wife is a doll and would treasure anything from him!
I'm also the only with multiple wedding setting in my circle

 

[pancake]

My best friend's now-fiance actually found it somehow OFFENSIVE that I was involved in choosing my own engagement ring, bought the stone online and had it set before getting engaged - in fact he got quite angry when my bestie told him I'd bought my stone online and saved a significant amount of money and suggested they might like to do the same.

I find most of my friends, if interested at all, only care about size and maybe a bit about setting. They are not interested in the rest of the specs and they are definitely not interested in other diamond jewellery or loose stones. I think one of them wants a pair of studs, but that's as far as her request goes.

All that said, they good-naturedly tolerate my obsession and roll their eyes affectionately at my membership of a diamond forum! I don't think it's that surprising to them, as my fashion obsession pre-dated my bling thing by many years

 

[marymm]

Yup - but luckily DH is quite interested in my gemstones and setting ideas so I can always go to him with my new bling or for opinions about stones and settings - I actually get more feedback from casual encounters with strangers (you know, at check-out counters or at Starbucks or browsing at stores) when someone will comment on one of my rings - I get so excited that someone has noticed my jewelry I have to keep from spilling out too much info.

 

[february2003bride]

Oh yes, by far.

 

[kenny]

I am.
Nobody I know is into diamonds.
I have not told anyone, besides my SO, about my the little pretties in my avatar.

 

[Circe]

Ooo, Kenny - nice new icon!

Me, too. I grew up in a jewelry family, so growing up, I was the only person I knew who had a fascination for precious stones ... aside from my dad, that is. It was a nice bonding thing.

Now that I'm a Big Girl? Well, I'm the only one of my friends who's married, so there's really no one to commiserate with (I think that if you don't grow up with it, it's maybe more common to get into jewelry upon marriage). My friends all think I'm deeply weird for this, but they're tolerant ... I do get the feeling they think it's unusually shallow of me. I'm unplucked-eyebrow feminist-girl, otherwise. But I think they figure that the rest of it gives me a pass on the shiny, somehow - like, if I'm not buying ethically, who is?

I do wish I had a jewelry friend to go browsing on 47th with, though - I took a GIA class hoping I'd make friends, and an FIT class, but no dice. Maybe one of these days we'll have an NYC GTG, and I can bond.

 

[somethingshiny]

Isn't that why we convene here?

I have a friend who likes jewelry but she's just as happy with frozen spit as she'd be with a D IF Ideal.

My collection is quite small for PS but I don't know anyone IRL with as good or as many diamonds or gems as I have.

 

[JewelFreak]

+1 Shiny. None of my friends have any interest in jewels, except maybe the size of their e-rings. No interest in diamond quality, really, either. When I wear nice stuff, people rarely comment -- probably think I got it at Macy's. I don't wear it to be noticed, but it's frustrating not to be able to share an engrossing interest. That's why I'm glad to be here!!

--- Laurie

 

[RissaLou]

Yep! When we are slow at work I'm known for staring at jewelry online and when someone comments on something I'm looking at I go off about the stats of that particular item and how amazing it is and get so excited and then I turn around and see a blank stare. A co-worker once said to a new hire, "Oh don't get her going on jewelry it's like she's speaking a different language!". Don't get me wrong my co-workers and I get along very well and are all friends, but when it comes to shiny objects they all think I'm loony.

 

[marcy]

I am definitely the only one between my family and friends. I get so excited when someone comes to me for help or advice. I am sure I overwhelm them with information but I am always delighted to help them out.

 

[Black Jade]

I have a lot of friends who like jewelry and like to go shopping with me and look for deals. One or two of them have very nice collections.

None of them is interested in technical information even to the extent of wanting to know the 4 c's. Not even the women, much less the men. They judge a diamond by how big it is. That is really the only criteria. Well--so long as there are no black spots visible to the eye and no cracks and the thing looks more or less white and it sparkles, they don't really care if its GIA or AGS or ideal cut or anything else. Especially not if it adds to the price. They all like 'deals'.

I have had several people tell me that they got 'deals'on diamonds, asin 'the jeweller gave me a deal on this diamond because it has a flaw, he sold it to me cheaper."

I don't really think this matters. After all, I don't understand cars myself and don't care about them. I can't tell one car fromthe other except by the color and have often offended people (accidentally)by not noticing when they bought some amazing new something or the other. Everybody has their own interests. That's why internet communities are nice--they connect you up with other people who have your same interests when there are none around you.

Sometimes my friends get on my nerves but on the other hand, often they help me keep a sense of proportion.If I were arounda lot of people who cared if your diamonds were really nice, I might go crazy spending money and be enabled. HOwever, when I have to explain to people again and again exactly why a pair of diamond studs costs several thousand dollars more than another pair, because they don't see any difference, then I myself think about how important it really is--you know? I think that's why I bought one pair of really expensive studs with top specs, but since then have looked for deals on everything. And with the information I learned on Pricescope, I have enough knowledge to find things that look really nice that are not AGS 000 (like my earrings) which helps me and hubby keep the retirement fund intact,while I still enjoy my 'habit'.

 

[AprilBaby]

My best friend and I enable each other

 

[PumpkinPie]

for sure

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Yes, I am. And, one of my best friends is a jeweler/metalsmith. Her taste is very "artsy" and she likes the "rough hewn" look whereas I'd call my taste more traditional/classic. That said, on Friday, I took another friend to my trusted B&M jeweler to have her MIL's .50 carat diamond set into my original 14kt WG e-ring setting (I'm on upgrade number 2 now). She said she wanted my assistance so I was happy to go with her. I enjoy this board so much because everyone here "gets" each other's passion for diamonds/gemstones/pearls/jewelry but in my social circle, they do notice my jewelry and "play along" by complimenting me and noticing my newest acquisitions, but none of them wear anything bigger than a half of a carat and seem to believe that colored stones only come in sapphire, ruby, and emerald.

 

[rosetta]

a lone blingaholic here, reporting for group therapy

 

[gemgirl]

Isn't that why we convene here?

I have a friend who likes jewelry but she's just as happy with frozen spit as she'd be with a D IF Ideal.

My collection is quite small for PS but I don't know anyone IRL with as good or as many diamonds or gems as I have.

It's absolutely the same for me. I don't know anyone in real life who is diamond crazy. I have a few friends that are colored gem lovers, but none with a real love of diamonds. I'm it.

 

[diamondringlover]

Yes in my group of friends I am the only one that is obessed with jewerly, my family is another story

 

[athenaworth]

I'm by far the only one in my circle who is really into bling, but my mom is the queen of bling. Although she's a quantity over quality gal (wears multiple rings on every finger and multiple necklaces and bracelets). She's also a frozen spit gal. I go for a few quality pieces to wear every day and she totally doesn't get that. Sometimes I feel like my friends judge me for my bling love too, which is why I come here.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Yeah, it kinda seems like I'm the only one. Most of the women I know have one or two diamond pieces and they wear them but if I compliment or anything, they will say thanks and move on to other topics. Seems they like diamonds but don't want to chat. Only two have upgraded.

 

[natascha]

Well at least you guys live in countries were there diamond engagement rings and the like are the norm. I live in Sweden were most get a gold band as their engagement ring. So they are not interested at all and think I am completely bonkers. Here you go into a jewelry store and they will refer to anything above 0.20 carats as a big diamond, I have yet to see a anyone IRL with a bigger diamond than mine and mine ain't big. Even the specialized stores that sell antic jewelery, figures on TV programs as experts, etc just lump all old cuts into the same category. Never seen or heard of GIA, AGS, idealcut etc over here. I so lust after doing a trip to get to one of your GTG.

 

[tigian]

Isn't that why we convene here?

I have a friend who likes jewelry but she's just as happy with frozen spit as she'd be with a D IF Ideal.

My collection is quite small for PS but I don't know anyone IRL with as good or as many diamonds or gems as I have.

I'm with Shiny, too.
I have very little compared to other PSers, but my interest is far beyond what my friends are interested in.

 

[CherryBlossom]

No, in fact I think that I am behind most of my friends and family when it comes to this. I am half middle eastern and while I was growing up I was told that wearing silver is tacky, and everything had to be in 23/24k gold. Most of the older ladies in my family have heirloom pieces that have been passed down for generations and they have added to it to their collections from handmade to designer pieces. I have a few friends who are not reallllly into it but when we start talking about things their eyes do light up

 

[Tuckins1]

Sort of... Some of my friends like jewelery, but they don't have the passion or knowledge that I do. One of my friends from work always talks about getting new gorgeous jewels that she won on bidz.com or from costco... Not that you couldn't find nice things there, but the price she pays is way too much, and the quality is- lacking. It's hard for me not to say things about how she could have gotten much better quality for a better price, and that the crap that the sales associates are telling her makes her sound ignorant when she repeats it. I just smile and tell her "how lovely".

 

[princesss]

I have a few friends I've taken to play in my favourite jeweler's - every single one of them has had that slack jawed, eyes wide open, "Holy cow, you really know what you're talking about!" look after spending a few minutes in a jewelry store with me. So, yeah, I'm definitely the only blingaholic in my group! I grew up playing with my mom's jewelry and hanging out in jewelry shops in Thailand where my dad would pick/design stuff for my mom, so I started young.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Yup, none of my other friends understand the excitement or the joy it brings me. Thank god for the internet!

 

[tannet]

I have one friend who loves jewelry as much as I do. In fact, she is the one who introduced me to PS! My sister is also a blingaholic. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of spare cash to spend on jewelry so my collection consists mostly of fancy pieces, silver pieces and just a few real gold (14K or 18K) pieces....mostly earrings with my birthstone, blue topaz. My jewelry box (and hand) is still patiently waiting for my engagement ring, which is on its way and driving me exceptionally bonkers. I think I'm slowly converting one friend of mine who is beginning to talk about marriage with her bf into a blingaholic. I warned her from the beginning that it gets addicting! My bf, btw, thinks I'm absolutely nuts. Thankfully, he can sort of understand because he's an audiophile (stereo lover) and has a similar type of passion about his audio system.

 

[manderz]

Count me in! Fi doesn't understand it, and my friends could care less. I have helped several friends figure out what they'd like for thier erings though, and helped the boys find a good deal for said rings, so it all kinda works out

 

[lknvrb4]

I am all alone in the real world when it comes to bling. When I asked for a gift certificate to my favorite jewelry store for xmas my Mom asked me why I would want another wedding band? Some people just don't get it. I feel like everyone has their own hobbies, mines just expensive.