Is having more keeping me from enjoying what I have?

[diamondyes]

I wonder when enough is enough. Will I be collecting forever? So many PSers have claimed to have enough and be done and yet there is always something new to explore and covet. That is part of the fun! And it is a wonderful educational journey. But I’m starting to worry that the constant desire for more is making me less likely to enjoy what I already have.

I also resisted buying something recently, and was feeling like I was being smart to not just hoard another piece of jewelry… but now I’m sad I missed out on it. One of a kind pieces or sales cannot be found again!

This is such a bunch of random thoughts. Feel free to add your own!

 

[LilAlex]

Don't just add: upgrade! Sell some stuff to "make room." Taking a loss is better than hoarding, as you say.

Spouse would not buy one more thing until she got rid of something. This had nothing to do with jewelry, btw.

 

[monarch64]

I could never have enough! I don't think I'll ever have that issue, but if I were to dream I'd be like the crab Tamatoa in the Disney movie Moana.

 

[nala]

Your question has never crossed my mind. I guess that I’m a total addict. lol. But also—I have never said “I’m done” bc I really do enjoy finding treasures. When I come upon a potential piece, I do ask myself—which piece can I sell to pay for this? If I can’t come up with a sacrificial piece, then I know that I can pass. But most of the time I can and do purchase a new piece and it doesn’t take away from what I decide to keep. The trick is to constantly take inventory and decide what pieces no longer bring me joy.

 

[stracci2000]

I will never be done.
I love jewelry too much, and there is always another style, stone, design that I don't have.
The world of jewelry is too big, and even after all these years I am not done exploring it.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Wear it
even if its just around the house purely for your own enjoyment
If you wear it and enjoy wearing it then there is no quite, nothing to stop you buying another piece

We have plenty of what are you wearing today type threads to encourage you

 

[SomethingNew]

I hear ya, I love love love jewelry, but I have a very limited budget and I don't really wear them a lot except the few timeless pieces. I am also lazy that I tend to go pick up the same pieces everyday. I came to realization that I simply just enjoy the process and the excitement by chasing the so called "deals", and the restlessness until it is shipped to me. Once I get the piece, after a while i feel like I want to shop for a different style or when I really love them, then I start chasing for a variation of the same style. For example, I once searched high and low for an unheated sapphire with my budget. The search process was pretty fun and i got to shop around looking at different price/quality. I learned a lot during the process, I love my piece and I still do. But then now I am longing for a different shade of blue, and here I go, searching again, thought not quite seriously.

I also searched for tennis bracelet with a limited budget, it took a long time, and looked into both lab and natural. My heart was set in WG, didn't even consider any other type of gold. Recently Alex posted a bunch on IG in yellow and rose gold and I was hooked. I then start looking for YG and now I have decided I want an YG with yellow diamonds.

In other words, I feel like it never ends but I do feel like I am slowing down. What has helped me was I wrote down what I want and put them in order. I changed my order occasionally, and i also keep a good record of how much I spent. When I see something I really like but not on the list, I go back to my list and my urge to divert from my goal subside a little bit. it definitely helped me to stay focus on pieces I want.

 

[missy]

It is important to be grateful for what one does have.
Acknowledging all the good we have is the foundation for happiness.

I am grateful for every second I am here to spend with my loved ones.
All the rest is gravy.
Life is precious.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

This is probably not going to be a popular opinion since we are on a jewelry forum, but I found that the desire to acquire became more of a burden than a joy.

For starters, I’m not a person who enjoys owning a lot of jewelry, I wore the same wedding set for ten years. Despite constantly buying new pieces, there has always been a feeling of wanting to get back to that effortless staple of wearing the same rings as my wedding set. I have that now but it has taken a lot to get here. The buying was a means to an end because I needed to try on all the different shoes to find Cinderella’s slipper.

Buying pieces also kept me in a magical jewelry world. Magical jewelry world is great in one sense because you don’t think about all the real world yucky stuff. In my case, it kept my mind off the unpleasant realities of pandemic life, of having lost my job, of having to adjust to distance learning. It was like the vacation I could escape to anytime real life became too much.

Then after some serious reflection, I decided there would always be something bigger and prettier, another great deal etc but keeping myself in this endless loop was not going to do me any favors in the long term. So I got a job, then after a lot of internal debate I decided to homeschool our youngest son. Now I’m homeschooling during the day and working at night six days a week, honestly I still look and still read PS but feel more fulfilled than any ring I ever bought.

There isn’t any right or wrong but for me I’ve just decided that I need to move on and find things outside of magical jewelry world to fill my time with. Then when I do get something for Christmas or my birthday it will be more special because it’s only on those special occasions instead of anytime something pops up.

 

[diamondyes]

Don't just add: upgrade! Sell some stuff to "make room." Taking a loss is better than hoarding, as you say.

Spouse would not buy one more thing until she got rid of something. This had nothing to do with jewelry, btw.

Solid advice!! Thank you!

 

[diamondyes]

I could never have enough! I don't think I'll ever have that issue, but if I were to dream I'd be like the crab Tamatoa in the Disney movie Moana.

Do you wear it all?
Do you ever feel weird about the wish list never ending?

A PSer once suggested we consider the total value of our collection and if it’s a number we are ok with, that gives me pause, too!

 

[diamondyes]

Your question has never crossed my mind. I guess that I’m a total addict. lol. But also—I have never said “I’m done” bc I really do enjoy finding treasures. When I come upon a potential piece, I do ask myself—which piece can I sell to pay for this? If I can’t come up with a sacrificial piece, then I know that I can pass. But most of the time I can and do purchase a new piece and it doesn’t take away from what I decide to keep. The trick is to constantly take inventory and decide what pieces no longer bring me joy.

A constant curation and culling. Keeping only the best and the most favourite. This makes sense to me!

 

[diamondyes]

Wear it
even if its just around the house purely for your own enjoyment
If you wear it and enjoy wearing it then there is no quite, nothing to stop you buying another piece

We have plenty of what are you wearing today type threads to encourage you

Cute picture!!!

 

[diamondyes]

I hear ya, I love love love jewelry, but I have a very limited budget and I don't really wear them a lot except the few timeless pieces. I am also lazy that I tend to go pick up the same pieces everyday. I came to realization that I simply just enjoy the process and the excitement by chasing the so called "deals", and the restlessness until it is shipped to me. Once I get the piece, after a while i feel like I want to shop for a different style or when I really love them, then I start chasing for a variation of the same style. For example, I once searched high and low for an unheated sapphire with my budget. The search process was pretty fun and i got to shop around looking at different price/quality. I learned a lot during the process, I love my piece and I still do. But then now I am longing for a different shade of blue, and here I go, searching again, thought not quite seriously.

I also searched for tennis bracelet with a limited budget, it took a long time, and looked into both lab and natural. My heart was set in WG, didn't even consider any other type of gold. Recently Alex posted a bunch on IG in yellow and rose gold and I was hooked. I then start looking for YG and now I have decided I want an YG with yellow diamonds.

In other words, I feel like it never ends but I do feel like I am slowing down. What has helped me was I wrote down what I want and put them in order. I changed my order occasionally, and i also keep a good record of how much I spent. When I see something I really like but not on the list, I go back to my list and my urge to divert from my goal subside a little bit. it definitely helped me to stay focus on pieces I want.

I relate to this, and I like your suggestion!

 

[diamondyes]

This is probably not going to be a popular opinion since we are on a jewelry forum, but I found that the desire to acquire became more of a burden than a joy.

For starters, I’m not a person who enjoys owning a lot of jewelry, I wore the same wedding set for ten years. Despite constantly buying new pieces, there has always been a feeling of wanting to get back to that effortless staple of wearing the same rings as my wedding set. I have that now but it has taken a lot to get here. The buying was a means to an end because I needed to try on all the different shoes to find Cinderella’s slipper.

Buying pieces also kept me in a magical jewelry world. Magical jewelry world is great in one sense because you don’t think about all the real world yucky stuff. In my case, it kept my mind off the unpleasant realities of pandemic life, of having lost my job, of having to adjust to distance learning. It was like the vacation I could escape to anytime real life became too much.

Then after some serious reflection, I decided there would always be something bigger and prettier, another great deal etc but keeping myself in this endless loop was not going to do me any favors in the long term. So I got a job, then after a lot of internal debate I decided to homeschool our youngest son. Now I’m homeschooling during the day and working at night six days a week, honestly I still look and still read PS but feel more fulfilled than any ring I ever bought.

There isn’t any right or wrong but for me I’ve just decided that I need to move on and find things outside of magical jewelry world to fill my time with. Then when I do get something for Christmas or my birthday it will be more special because it’s only on those special occasions instead of anytime something pops up.

What you describe is so similar to what I’ve been going through! “Magical jewelry world” - I love it, and it’s so true. Being a SAHM with a newborn in a pandemic… damn was it ever nice having a beautiful happy place to visit.

I’m going to give a lot of thought to where you are now because I like the sounds of it! Thank you for sharing.

 

[pearlsngems]

I find that owning more jewelry items does result in my wearing (and enjoying) each piece less often. e.g. I don't layer my necklaces or wear multiple rings at the same time, so each new necklace or ring means I wear the other necklaces /rings less often.

So in a sense, more is less, and less is more.

 

[stracci2000]

I would like to expound on what I said earlier.
I said that I'm not done exploring the world of jewelry.
I also have developed an ecclectic taste in jewelry over the years. I love anything different, unusual or ethnic. Stuff the average person has never heard of.
Diamonds and gold are great, and I have plenty of that after a lifetime of collecting.
But......there is so much more in the world of jewelry.
Native American silver, Middle Eastern gold, Maori and Canadian jade, Baltic amber, Victorian, Georgian, cameos, coral, pearls, (OMG pearls), mokume gane, Hawaiian koa wood, black hills gold, Montana sapphires, tourmaline from Maine, coin jewelry, I could go on and on and on.....
There is even jewelry made from auto paint chips (fordite), which is very cool.
If you look around, the world of jewelry is never ending, and I love it!

 

[MamaBee]

I was always happy with the engagement ring that I had when I first joined PS. I joined because I was in the market for studs..Then got hooked..I saw my beautiful diamond that I loved so much shrink before my eyes. Next..my setting was too high…I needed a new setting. I changed the setting twice since joining..but used the same beautiful diamond that continued to shrink. I got wrapped up in the whirl of all the beautiful jewelry that was on here. I ventured into moissanite too..I’m finding I don’t wear it..That was one of my expensive learning experiences because I paid a lot of money for numerous moissanite beautiful things...that I don’t wear. Next was a fascination with bands. I have so many now. I have favorites that I wear but the others sit. That was another expensive lesson. I’ve come to a point where I just want to reset my 3.01 ACA in a tapered baguette setting..It was what I started with..The diamond is bigger than my original from when I joined here...but I will feel like I’ve come full circle. I truly don’t want any more jewelry. I have enough beautiful jewelry to keep me happy. My frantic searching for acquiring beautiful things has diminished. I’m perfectly content with what I have. I am done..I do think in the beginning having more did make me not truly appreciate the things I did have .

 

[siamese3]

This is probably not going to be a popular opinion since we are on a jewelry forum, but I found that the desire to acquire became more of a burden than a joy.

For starters, I’m not a person who enjoys owning a lot of jewelry, I wore the same wedding set for ten years. Despite constantly buying new pieces, there has always been a feeling of wanting to get back to that effortless staple of wearing the same rings as my wedding set. I have that now but it has taken a lot to get here. The buying was a means to an end because I needed to try on all the different shoes to find Cinderella’s slipper.

Buying pieces also kept me in a magical jewelry world. Magical jewelry world is great in one sense because you don’t think about all the real world yucky stuff. In my case, it kept my mind off the unpleasant realities of pandemic life, of having lost my job, of having to adjust to distance learning. It was like the vacation I could escape to anytime real life became too much.

Then after some serious reflection, I decided there would always be something bigger and prettier, another great deal etc but keeping myself in this endless loop was not going to do me any favors in the long term. So I got a job, then after a lot of internal debate I decided to homeschool our youngest son. Now I’m homeschooling during the day and working at night six days a week, honestly I still look and still read PS but feel more fulfilled than any ring I ever bought.

There isn’t any right or wrong but for me I’ve just decided that I need to move on and find things outside of magical jewelry world to fill my time with. Then when I do get something for Christmas or my birthday it will be more special because it’s only on those special occasions instead of anytime something pops up.

I really love your post! Thank you for sharing.. I have had many of the same feelings and thoughts.

 

[diamondyes]

I would like to expound on what I said earlier.
I said that I'm not done exploring the world of jewelry.
I also have developed an ecclectic taste in jewelry over the years. I love anything different, unusual or ethnic. Stuff the average person has never heard of.
Diamonds and gold are great, and I have plenty of that after a lifetime of collecting.
But......there is so much more in the world of jewelry.
Native American silver, Middle Eastern gold, Maori and Canadian jade, Baltic amber, Victorian, Georgian, cameos, coral, pearls, (OMG pearls), mokume gane, Hawaiian koa wood, black hills gold, Montana sapphires, tourmaline from Maine, coin jewelry, I could go on and on and on.....
There is even jewelry made from auto paint chips (fordite), which is very cool.
If you look around, the world of jewelry is never ending, and I love it!

Agreed that
“ fordite” is really cool!

 

[marymm]

I've been into rocks and gems and jewelry since I was a little girl, it is an abiding interest and hobby, no way am I stopping myself from the pleasure and interest and education that gemstones/jewelry provides.

I do go in cycles of buying & setting (and purging & selling). Lately I've been focused more on setting stuff that means something to me, and buying only those stones necessary to complete current and pending projects.

In the coming months, I will be reviewing my entire jewelry and gemstone collection. I am keeping only those pieces and stones that bring me joy and tell me stories, and selling the rest. Once I have refined my collection, I plan to maintain it; meaning, as I may buy or receive something new in the future, I will let go of something.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I think the way I’ve made peace with my jewelry hobby is by having a list of good-to-have and need-to-have (need is a strong word here, but this list consists mostly of staples) and working diligently to complete my “need” list before weeding out my want list. I love jewelry in all it’s forms, but that extends to simply looking and not owning as well. Put differently, Im okay to not own something I want. It’s enough to be able to look at it in pictures and drool.

Im also reasonably disciplined about buying, I don’t spend more than my discretionary me-fund allows (that fund is also used towards my other expensive habits, like handbags) and don’t really buy more than 1-2 things a year. I also like to marinate on things for a long time before buying.

 

[tyty333]

Having more is definitely keeping me from enjoying what I have. I now have 2 erings. I mostly wear my recently acquired ering but
it leaves me feeling what's the use of having two when one of them hardly ever gets worn? In my head, it makes no sense to have something that expensive just hanging out in my jewelry box. Is this guilt over money spent or an overindulgence? I don't really know. I think being a minimalist by nature makes it hard to be a good Pricescoper...that, and not having anywhere to go to wear a lot of different
items.

I've been thinking about a moi et toi ring maybe somewhere in my future so I can wear both stones. I'll probably take a couple of
years to think about it and make sure that's what I really want.

 

[dk168]

I always have a bling wish list, and when an item is ticked off, it is replaced by something else.

It may be shorter nowadays, however, there is still a list, and the value for individual item goes up as I grow older due to increase in earning power etc. etc...

So the short answer is I doubt if I would ever stop buying blings.

I have reached gear-buying nirvana only once when I was camping in a tent, in that I had all the gears I needed and did not need to buy or upgrade anymore.

Hopefully the same will be true soon for my new camping outfit which is a customer converted RV.

DK

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Cute picture!!!

Its Princess Margaret, the Queen's late sister
The photo was taken by her then photographer husband although it only became public after both their deaths
That is the mighty Poltimore tiara

And the lesson in all of this is Princess Margaret brought that tiara for herself !


Sadly her son sold it to pay death duties

 

[Austina]

I think for me the thrill is in the chase, and once I have something, I'm less interested. I have so many beautiful things that I just don't wear.

 

[Ionysis]

Jewellery is my escape. God knows how fat I would be now if I hadn’t had my gem collection to add to. I’d have been. A shareholder in Cadbury.

If I was buying electronics they would be obsolete. A car would be ridiculously depreciated.

I DO constantly want more. But to me as long as I am building a collection that will stand the test if time I don’t mind so much if I am diluting my enjoyment of the pieces I have. Maybe my kids will enjoy them. And I enjoy the acquisition as much as the ownership or the wearing. I love the education. And the excitement.

 

[lambskin]

I am not buying anymore. But I get my jewelry passion -addiction satisfied here as I learn so much from the community. I love stepping in the shoes of posters who are shopping, designing or receiving jewelry and voicing my opinion as this forum is so tolerant. I can’t wear expensive jewelry at work, I ride public transportation in a crime ridden city and frankly don’t go out much anymore at night in fear of car jackings and armed robberies. Plus inflation has really hit hard on all consumer goods. I would not sell my stuff in my lifetime ( unless needed) but when I am gone the kids can do what they want with it.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I am not buying anymore. But I get my jewelry passion -addiction satisfied here as I learn so much from the community. I love stepping in the shoes of posters who are shopping, designing or receiving jewelry and voicing my opinion as this forum is so tolerant. I can’t wear expensive jewelry at work, I ride public transportation in a crime ridden city and frankly don’t go out much anymore at night in fear of car jackings and armed robberies. Plus inflation has really hit hard on all consumer goods. I would not sell my stuff in my lifetime ( unless needed) but when I am gone the kids can do what they want with it.

I want to like this post @lambskin but it kinda takes a dark turn

 

[seaurchin]

I think it's easy to get into the habit of buying things then not wearing or using them, if that's what you mean. I've started rotating my jewelry so it all gets worn. That also helps me keep in mind what I already have vs. what I'd get the most use of next, as well as what to weed out because I no longer want to wear it.

I also have a jewelry budget now so I don't have to worry about if I'm spending "too much."