Does dainty jewellery last?

[theredspinel]

So I’ve grown up in an environment where the weight of your gold jewellery is what was important - the heftier a piece the better quality it was valued as being.

Not to say jewellery didn’t break, but generally you could wear things (talking about 18kt plus purity) 24/7/365 and they would last your full LIFETIME.

That was the standard my parents and grandparents measured the quality of jewellery against - would it last your full lifetime?

Nowadays it’s all about the dainty pieces. I didn’t really like dainty pieces until very recently and so to date, I’ve brought one dainty diamond ring

Now I’m in love with dainty pieces and I’m compiling a “wish list” for the next year or so, but adding it all up in monetary terms I can’t help but think about the ~amount~ of gold I’m spending all this money on… and it’s not a large amount by any stretch. In terms of gold weight/grams etc.

Soo… my question; at least if you’re not going to get the same bang for your buck in terms of gold weight, do these pieces at least last?! I’m not talking 24/7 wear (obviously not) but can you wear them a few times a week and have them last at least 10/20 years?

Anyone here with dainty pieces they’ve owned for more than 5 years and have worn regularly (say around 3 times per week)?

Willing to show me the state it’s in? TIA

 

[seaurchin]

You hit on several different things in your post but for now I'll answer your question about what jewelry pieces I wear the most and over the longest period of time. Good question because I hadn't really considered it before. Mine are what I'd consider basics or classics. The kind of pieces that can dress up or down and that go with anything:

Rings: wedding band; e-ring; gold and diamond right hand ring.

Earrings: diamond/CZ studs; white pearl studs; black pearl studs; thin, medium gold hoops.

Necklaces: short, thin chain; DBTY type necklace (also short and thin).

Bracelets: diamond solitaire bangle, tennis bracelet.

Hope that helps.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

hello @theredspinel

i saw your thread the other night and thought about this a lot as opposed to counting sheep because its so hot right now its too hot to sleep !

i had really hoped you would have had more replies before i chime in with my 2 cents (note 2 cents arn't even legal currency here any more ) as im not a fan of the dainty look, (sorry)

i mean what a boring world if we all liked the same thing
So im going to be biased (sorry)

i guess only time will tell but honesty with regular wear i doubt most dainty pieces will last

And/or maybe fashion will swing back the other way (it always does) before a lot of those pieces wear out and they will then be sitting in drawers unworn

I mean i know of plenty of older ER's on thin bands that have needed reshanking but where they worn often?
Who knows ?
but i suspect so

i have one dainty piece
a silver name necklacse
its been back for repair twice and ive only warn it once
its not a cheap nasty piece either and it wasn't mass produced down the mall, but made to order by a Christchurch jewler
and yes i was gentle with it
i just put it on and went to work
im going to go have a less dainty chain put on it
and maybe then ill wear it again but i just have no faith in it now

Because of that i am presently updating any gold chains i have pendents on to a heavier style, not just for look, but because i do not trust the daintier weights to keep the pendents safe
in all honesty i think its a design fault of my name necklese but its now scared me to think that i might loose something valuable beacuse its on a dainty chain

but i think if one is going to go dainty, especially with expensive fine gold jewlery you have to buy really well made pieces and also always be very gentle and mindful with/of them and they need to be well designed with no weak points

personally i like to see poeple's jewlery so that's one of the reason's why im not a fan of minimilist or dainty jewlery -
but mostly we wear jewlery to please ourselves and not others

I think It's also in some part (hopefully in my book ) a passing phase
It infuriates me no end to see the lovelly Dutches of Cambridge and the Queen of Spain wear pieces i can hardly see when i know they have much bigger options !!!


But i understand its an asthetic that's popular right now with younger people and also people not that not that much younger than me (but who don't rememebr the 70s and 80s with the love and fondness that i do)

So in all serousness* i would say why don't you do one of those capsule things?
at least to start with,
you know a small handful of essential pieces that you can wear everywhere and appropreatly dress up or dress down
and see how it goes for you,
to make sure that dainty fits in with your lifestyle

there are threads about creating a jewlery capsule around this place
I'm not a minimilist so it wouldnt work for me

but i know for me it would be a total waste of money (and beleave me i know about wasting money on the wrong kind of jewlery) to go out and buy a ton of dainty pieces

But why dont you show us what you have right now ?
We love pictures



* forgive me i know its hard to take a single thing i saw serously when i have this kind of spelling but i seem to have lost the spell check function

 

[DutchJackie]

I’ve worn dainty pieces. They last me a couple of years. These pieces are fashion pieces for me, but made of the real and precious materials. I hope this helps

 

[Rhd3]

I have a few dainty earrings and necklaces that have held up to daily wear. I’d say breaking the chain or bending the posts when taking them on an off would be the biggest risk. I don’t sleep or shower while wearing jewelry but would probably avoid it with dainty pieces if I did.

Personally, I’d be hesitant to spend much money on dainty rings. I own a few dainty stackers and I only wear them if I’m not doing much of anything. I really think they would warp or I’d lose a stone if I gripped a doorknob wrong. I’d considered them well-made, too.

 

[theredspinel]

Thank you all so much for your responses. Responding from mobile so I’ll keep it quick!

I think you’ve all confirmed what I thought, dainty = beautiful but likely to need babying. @DutchJackie a few years… just as I feared.

I guess that does put it into perspective though of what I should be willing to spend, if I consider these pieces will last only a few years!

@Daisies and Diamonds, don’t worry about the spelling!! I only had the one dainty piece, a very small diamond ring I had just purchased at the time of making this thread, but I returned it - subpar craftsmanship and it would catch on every single thing! Such a shame as it looked pretty, I just knew it was going to catch and break/bend at some point. I am still looking at dainty pieces but I think after reading all the responses here, the perspectives given have calmed my lusting down a bit

 

[dk168]

There are a few pieces I only wear when I know I am going to be in good behaviour, like having a meal at a posh restaurant without consuming lots of alcohol and end up dancing the night away in a packed dance floor etc...

One of the rings has 4 prongs holding a cabochon Ruby and I worry about the catching the prongs and losing the Ruby.

Four rings have pearls and I worry about scratching the pearls as they sit quite high for 3 of them, being a Tahitian, a South Sea and a Sea of Cortez (SoC) pearls. The fourth one is a SoC mabe that has a larger surface area that could be scratched.

I wear a bezel set tennis bracelet in Rhodium-plated silver set with Swarovski Zirconia stones instead of my 5cttw diamond version nearly every day so that I don't have to baby it.

I change the ring on my left hand nearly every day, and have a few to choose from, so they do not get worn out that quickly.

The ring I wear most on my right hand is a chunky platinum band about 5mm wide with a small EC diamond about 0.47ct bezel-set in East-West direction. I don't baby it, and it has developed a very nice patina over the years.

The bigger 1.19ct EC ring as a RHR only comes out when I am in good behaviour. I banged it horrendously out of shape by slapping my hand on a table one tipsy evening in a pub! It was a good night as I can't remember slapping my hand on the table.

The shank of the larger EC ring is not solid at the top to save on cost when it was made back in 2015, hence the weak points. I am toying the idea of having the stone re-set in a 3-stone design in a sturdier setting.

DK

 

[GeliL]

I am not sure how dainty is dainty but I have been wearing the same 18k gold and platinum bracelet, every single day, for 17 years. I am pretty rough with it because I've really never taken it off for more than a few occasions, other than taking it off to clean it. I wear it to do sports, go swimming, doing chores, pretty much everything. It's still holding up well and in good condition. To this day I am still in awe about how low maintenance it is. It is definitely not a bulky chain either, although it's also definitely not the invisible look either. I have a picture here: https://www.pricescope.com/communit...ur-“jewelry-rules”-if-any.266108/post-4984066

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Thank you all so much for your responses. Responding from mobile so I’ll keep it quick!

I think you’ve all confirmed what I thought, dainty = beautiful but likely to need babying. @DutchJackie a few years… just as I feared.

I guess that does put it into perspective though of what I should be willing to spend, if I consider these pieces will last only a few years!

@Daisies and Diamonds, don’t worry about the spelling!! I only had the one dainty piece, a very small diamond ring I had just purchased at the time of making this thread, but I returned it - subpar craftsmanship and it would catch on every single thing! Such a shame as it looked pretty, I just knew it was going to catch and break/bend at some point. I am still looking at dainty pieces but I think after reading all the responses here, the perspectives given have calmed my lusting down a bit

i always feel a bit sad when initial excitment turns to caution
even though its just as well sometimes (for one's wallet)

I feel sad it it was subpar craftmanship but good for you recognizing this

i wish i had returned my too dark saphires but we dont seem to have the same return options here other markets seem to have
im so glad you did not take offence at my opinions, because you know we all like different things

the one dainty ring i have i turned around and bought it two sisters and turned it into a stack but i did try the dainty look (for one day )
i have short but stubby fingers so need a wider profile band for finger coverage

are you going to buy another better made dainty diamond ring ?

 

[lilmosun]

I mean i know of plenty of older ER's on thin bands that have needed reshanking but where they worn often?
Who knows ?
but i suspect so

I've had to replace the thin shanks on a couple of pre-loved rings that broken/cracked with only minimal wear.