Quality vs budget vs size - how do you prioritise?

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

This is more of a general discussion question than something specific to my life, so all opinions welcome.

How do you prioritise the different factors that go into buying/making a piece of jewelry: budget (buying fewer pieces but spending more per piece, or trying to achieve a certain look as cheaply as possible), size/showiness, “quality” (handforged/cast, high colour and clarity) etc? Is it dependent on the occasion or type of piece (spend more on everyday piece because you wear it so much more or spend more on a special occasion piece or spend more on ring since people see it up close more vs on studs since those are hidden behind your hair)?

I think the obvious answer is that “it depends” of course, but I still think we tend to be logically consistent in our decisions. Like for me, I know that I like having multiple pieces and options, so I need to make sure I get the biggest bang for my buck especially since I’m a size ho. So I go for the minimum specs for colour and clarity that I can live with for something like my studs that get worn reasonably often.

But also, while if I’m buying new I want to make sure I get something which is at least reasonably well cut and not leaky, if I’m wearing something inherited I wouldn’t dream of recutting even if a stone could be greatly improved by doing so, and that’s not purely driven by sentiment either; I just feel like it’s good enough and I didn’t pay a penny for it so why not enjoy it the way it is? Sure I’ll reset it so it’s more my style but I draw the line at recutting. Similarly, I have received some pieces over the years that belong to family members and some of them are not of very high quality (small diamonds with eye visible inclusions) but I wear them the way they are if I like them or reset them if I don’t, but it doesn’t bother me that the diamonds aren’t of amazing quality even if I’m putting together a special occasion pair of earrings for example. If someone is close enough to me to spot inclusions on a 0.30ct diamond in my ear then they’re either my doctor, my SO or someone with no concept of personal space. Maybe this is cultural?

I do think I’m in the minority though, and would be interested in what you all think also for any trade members reading, would be interesting if you could elaborate on trends you generally see amongst your customers etc if that doesn’t break any PS rules

 

[missy]

Since I adore and wear genuine old cut diamonds my priorities are different than they would be if I loved and wore modern cut diamonds.

For me there is no compromising on faceting and personality of the diamond. I want bright, beautiful and big. And those are subjective measurements in a way. I won't compromise on what I feel is beautiful so that is number one for me. And bright goes along with beautiful. Is there even light play across the stone? Are more facets on than off at any given time? And so on and so forth. And then it comes down to the individual stone. There aren't a lot of gorgeous old cuts around anymore sadly but that makes it a bit more special for me.

I don't expect optically perfect with genuine old cuts and honestly, for me, that is part of their charm. They are all different and a beautifully cut antique diamond makes my heart flip flop more than the most perfectly super ideal cut diamond does. Just something about them. No right or wrong. It comes down to what makes your heart go flip flop if you kwim.

I also have a thing for clarity so I prefer VS or better. That's a mind clean thing I have.
As for color with old cuts I prefer J or better but my OEC earrings are K and they are gorgeous and that just goes to show how each old cut diamond needs to be evaluated in person and on their own merits. There is no rule that fits all antique diamonds IMO. You have to choose with your own eyes.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Since I adore and wear genuine old cut diamonds my priorities are different than they would be if I loved and wore modern cut diamonds.

For me there is no compromising on faceting and personality of the diamond. I want bright, beautiful and big. And those are subjective measurements in a way. I won't compromise on what I feel is beautiful so that is number one for me. And bright goes along with beautiful. Is there even light play across the stone? Are more facets on than off at any given time? And so on and so forth. And then it comes down to the individual stone. There aren't a lot of gorgeous old cuts around anymore sadly but that makes it a bit more special for me.

I don't expect optically perfect with genuine old cuts and honestly, for me, that is part of their charm. They are all different and a beautifully cut antique diamond makes my heart flip flop more than the most perfectly super ideal cut diamond does. Just something about them. No right or wrong. It comes down to what makes your heart go flip flop if you kwim.

I also have a thing for clarity so I prefer VS or better. That's a mind clean thing I have.
As for color with old cuts I prefer J or better but my OEC earrings are K and they are gorgeous and that just goes to show how each old cut diamond needs to be evaluated in person and on their own merits. There is no rule that fits all antique diamonds IMO. You have to choose with your own eyes.

Well said! I honestly believe that all diamonds should be bought by eye, but with MRBs you at least can buy with tools and numbers. But somehow there’s no charm in that for me I love the idea of something uniquely beautiful, like the cutter felt something in the stone and so went the way they did and it’s hard to replicate even if someone matched the angles as well as they could.

 

[missy]

Well said! I honestly believe that all diamonds should be bought by eye, but with MRBs you at least can buy with tools and numbers. But somehow there’s no charm in that for me I love the idea of something uniquely beautiful, like the cutter felt something in the stone and so went the way they did and it’s hard to replicate even if someone matched the angles as well as they could.

 

[MsShnooks]

I think it’s been money related for me. When I was younger and had less disposable income, I was very happy with fashion jewellery or cheapo fine jewellery (that wasn’t really that fine). These days, we’re much better off so I’ve got some excellent quality pieces. I wear far fewer but much nicer pieces.

My original e-ring has been bothering me because of its low quality (nicely cut but J/SI2 in a stock setting that the diamond doesn’t sit properly in + some of the side stones are of questionable quality). After toing and froing for the past couple of years, it’s finally getting upgraded but it’s been pretty difficult as my husband has been very sentimenta/upset over it and we’re in the U.K. where there’s no culture of upgrades.

Having said that, the ring in my avatar is set with very average, treated sapphires but I wear it for sentimental reasons as my husband had it made bespoke for me when our son was born.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I think it’s been money related for me. When I was younger and had less disposable income, I was very happy with fashion jewellery or cheapo fine jewellery (that wasn’t really that fine). These days, we’re much better off so I’ve got some excellent quality pieces. I wear far fewer but much nicer pieces.

My original e-ring has been bothering me because of its low quality (nicely cut but J/SI2 in a stock setting that the diamond doesn’t sit properly in + some of the side stones are of questionable quality). After toing and froing for the past couple of years, it’s finally getting upgraded but it’s been pretty difficult as my husband has been very sentimenta/upset over it and we’re in the U.K. where there’s no culture of upgrades.

Having said that, the ring in my avatar is set with very average, treated sapphires but I wear it for sentimental reasons as my husband had it made bespoke for me when our son was born.

Yeah for sure, budget definitely has the last word with my jewelry as well haha! I definitely understand the whole sentiment factor though, there are some pieces I have that I don’t plan to change/reset because they’re special.

Best of luck with your upgrade

 

[MissGotRocks]

Quality for sure. I'd rather have a few really nice pieces of jewelry than 20 so-so ones. Anytime I have compromised on quality, I have been unhappy. So many factors though that come into play as people make choices and prioritize their wants.

 

[dk168]

When making a significant purchase, I would like to apply the principles of "get it right first time" and "buy the best that one can afford".

I went through a phase when I purchased inexpensive "learner" CSs, with some mistakes made along the way, resulting in stones that I do not intend to waste money on setting.

Same with pearls, in that I started with inexpensive ones and gradually moved up to better quality ones through the years.

With diamonds, I still buy the odd inexpensive pieces, mainly earrings, as I can never have too many earrings (2 pairs are on their way from one of the shopping channels).

My taste in finer things in life changed as grew older, and became more discerning. Luckily, my earning potential/power had also improved through the years.

With CS, I prefer to pay more so as to commission for a stone to be precision-cut to order, in the colour, clarity and size that I like, with a couple of trusted vendors.

With pearls, again, I would probably go custom with one or two trusted vendors.

With diamonds, I only wish for an OEC around 1ct, however, it is not high on my bling wish list.

Quite happy to go lab CSs or lab/MMD routes, as long as they are good quality.

Also quite happy to use Rhodium-plated Silver or lower purity white gold alloys in order to cut down the cost of settings.

I regularly mix costume pieces with simulants with pieces with mined stones.

Like food, I love the occasional fast foods with KFC being the top of the list, and love fine dinning at starred restaurants, and everything in between.

I believe my approach to jewellery is the same - I love everything from low cost fun pieces to high end ones that cost significantly more!

DK

 

[seaurchin]

The quality and cost of my jewelry pieces have gone up along with income through the years. But now I feel like it's gone far enough and am somewhat reversing my trend.

 

[Diamond Girl 21]

Quality comes first for all my important pieces. Although I still occasionally indulge in less expensive pieces when they are unique and fun.

 

[Dancing Fire]

#1...cut quality + H&A
#2...Ct. weight
#3...color
#4...clarity "eye clean"

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Quality for sure. I'd rather have a few really nice pieces of jewelry than 20 so-so ones. Anytime I have compromised on quality, I have been unhappy. So many factors though that come into play as people make choices and prioritize their wants.

Quality comes first for all my important pieces. Although I still occasionally indulge in less expensive pieces when they are unique and fun.

I think this is interesting to me because it’s like, what defines quality? For example I was thinking of these earrings I had made by dismantling an couple of old bracelets that I had with small diamonds in them. Those diamonds were quite included (no issues with structural stability, but eye visible inclusions at a very small size) and my jeweler was like “are you sure you want to use these, they’re quite included” and I said something like “well, what will I do with the bracelets anyway? I’ll rather have the earrings, and who’s going to see the inclusions once my hair is down?”

That being said, it’s super important to me that the setting is done well. I get really irritated with sloppy finishing. I’m lucky that my jeweler is very reasonably priced for handforged stuff because I get everything custom and handforged if I’m getting something new, if possible. Of course sometimes I do just buy something already made, but I usually like to tweak things to make them mine. I do have a bracelet that was given to me many years ago as a gift, which is not well made. It’s not worth getting it redone because the labour cost would outstrip the cost of materials and it doesn’t have any issues face up at polite viewing distance, but the sloppy prongs and badly finished/polished underside irritates me. I still wear it occasionally but much less frequently than I’d want to.

The quality and cost of my jewelry pieces have gone up along with income through the years. But now I feel like it's gone far enough and am somewhat reversing my trend.

I understand this also - for me there’s a point where even if I could afford to spend more, I wouldn’t. Budget is still top of the list as far as priority goes haha.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

When making a significant purchase, I would like to apply the principles of "get it right first time" and "buy the best that one can afford".

I went through a phase when I purchased inexpensive "learner" CSs, with some mistakes made along the way, resulting in stones that I do not intend to waste money on setting.

Same with pearls, in that I started with inexpensive ones and gradually moved up to better quality ones through the years.

With diamonds, I still buy the odd inexpensive pieces, mainly earrings, as I can never have too many earrings (2 pairs are on their way from one of the shopping channels).

My taste in finer things in life changed as grew older, and became more discerning. Luckily, my earning potential/power had also improved through the years.

With CS, I prefer to pay more so as to commission for a stone to be precision-cut to order, in the colour, clarity and size that I like, with a couple of trusted vendors.

With pearls, again, I would probably go custom with one or two trusted vendors.

With diamonds, I only wish for an OEC around 1ct, however, it is not high on my bling wish list.

Quite happy to go lab CSs or lab/MMD routes, as long as they are good quality.

Also quite happy to use Rhodium-plated Silver or lower purity white gold alloys in order to cut down the cost of settings.

I regularly mix costume pieces with simulants with pieces with mined stones.

Like food, I love the occasional fast foods with KFC being the top of the list, and love fine dinning at starred restaurants, and everything in between.

I believe my approach to jewellery is the same - I love everything from low cost fun pieces to high end ones that cost significantly more!

DK

Wise words! I am a big believer in “if you’re going to do something, do it right” for sure!

Also I like your philosophy - that everything has a time and place, from red carpet worthy creme de la creme of the jewelry world pieces to stuff you’d happily wear to McDonalds. So much of it is also what is appropriate for what setting.

Also rhodium plated silver is a smart idea for inexpensive/simulant jewelry, I’ll keep it in mind! Thank you

#1...cut quality + H&A
#2...Ct. weight
#3...color
#4...clarity "eye clean"

I’d say I’m similar to you, though perhaps I’d reverse 1 and 2 perfect H&A is not important to me as long as a stone is reasonably well cut (no major leakage).

What’s your stance on settings?

 

[Bron357]

My interest is and always has been bargain preloved and repurposing out of fashion or damaged pieces into something wearable.
ive only had one ring made (twice over) and that’s my engagement ring. Still the diamonds came in an original Art Deco setting.
while I am fascinated by others who design and create fabulous pieces, that’s not my thing.
I love older pieces, I love the quality of the workmanship and the fact that they have a past.
And price. Part of my collecting has been based on certain criteria to make it more challenging. My last wish item was a large Aquamarine ring BUT it had to cost under $1,000. Took me 15 years but I found it!
I need nothing now, no items remain on my “wish list” so it takes an outstanding buying opportunity to tempt me.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I’d say I’m similar to you, though perhaps I’d reverse 1 and 2 perfect H&A is not important to me as long as a stone is reasonably well cut (no major leakage).

What’s your stance on settings?

Post #49

The Biggest Setting Mistakes?

EW is not the only designer in the world. I won’t give my hard-earned money to someone who is rude to me. what about David Klass? Thank you for your sharing DK as a a suggestion. I think DK makes great settings especially for people who have love to go custom and try out totally new things...

www.pricescope.com

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

My interest is and always has been bargain preloved and repurposing out of fashion or damaged pieces into something wearable.
ive only had one ring made (twice over) and that’s my engagement ring. Still the diamonds came in an original Art Deco setting.
while I am fascinated by others who design and create fabulous pieces, that’s not my thing.
I love older pieces, I love the quality of the workmanship and the fact that they have a past.
And price. Part of my collecting has been based on certain criteria to make it more challenging. My last wish item was a large Aquamarine ring BUT it had to cost under $1,000. Took me 15 years but I found it!
I need nothing now, no items remain on my “wish list” so it takes an outstanding buying opportunity to tempt me.

I still remember joining PS and going down the rabbit hole of old threads and finding the story of your treasure trove. One of the coolest stories I’ve read. You’re an inspiration for bargain hunters everywhere!

Would you say that you’re more likely to be forgiving of certain “lapses in quality” (eg if melee is included or a bit yellow, but still appears beautiful at polite distance) in your bargain finds? Or part of the challenge for you is finding something that looks as though it would cost $2k at a minimum but you really paid $600, for example?

 

[Bron357]

Because I’m such a “magpie” I love scrolling eBay and various Auction houses for “mis described” or “under described” items. I also love unusual items.
ebay especially can turn up interesting things, its the sellers title that works with the search engine.
I scored a rare Elgin Mermaid watch or more correctly a Touchdown 202. It’s actually a mans watch but was listed and described as Ladies Elgin Watch. No one on the look out for one would be scrolling under that search.
My basic rule is to pay no more than I could resell it for. Doesn’t always work out that way, I sell very little but the principle remains.
I don’t pay “extra” for brand names for the sake of the name, though I have a few Rolexes (all vintage). I mean I’d never buy any silver Tiffany and I’m not in love enough with Cartier to pay the huge premium for one of their love bangles. Likewise I’d never buy Pandora bracelet / charms, over priced and everywhere in my opinion, but I do have a vintage slide bracelet (and watch) and two charm bracelets.
With my vintage watches, they have to be working unless I have plans for a revamp.
with rings, unless a bargain, they have to be in my size. Necklaces have to be 18 inches or 20 inches. I wont buy certain chain styles because they break ie box chains. I’ll buy a rope chain because for the weight it looks bigger.
With diamonds as long as to the eye they look white without obvious inclusions Im happy, with other gems I always check for chips or facet wear and will avoid unless only minor.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Because I’m such a “magpie” I love scrolling eBay and various Auction houses for “mis described” or “under described” items. I also love unusual items.
ebay especially can turn up interesting things, its the sellers title that works with the search engine.
I scored a rare Elgin Mermaid watch or more correctly a Touchdown 202. It’s actually a mans watch but was listed and described as Ladies Elgin Watch. No one on the look out for one would be scrolling under that search.
My basic rule is to pay no more than I could resell it for. Doesn’t always work out that way, I sell very little but the principle remains.
I don’t pay “extra” for brand names for the sake of the name, though I have a few Rolexes (all vintage). I mean I’d never buy any silver Tiffany and I’m not in love enough with Cartier to pay the huge premium for one of their love bangles. Likewise I’d never buy Pandora bracelet / charms, over priced and everywhere in my opinion, but I do have a vintage slide bracelet (and watch) and two charm bracelets.
With my vintage watches, they have to be working unless I have plans for a revamp.
with rings, unless a bargain, they have to be in my size. Necklaces have to be 18 inches or 20 inches. I wont buy certain chain styles because they break ie box chains. I’ll buy a rope chain because for the weight it looks bigger.
With diamonds as long as to the eye they look white without obvious inclusions Im happy, with other gems I always check for chips or facet wear and will avoid unless only minor.

Very wise
great tips
Thank you

 

[yssie]

The more I learn about Something, the more important ideal/perfect/uncompromising becomes to me (in the context of that Something).

I have a number of pieces wherein I thought I’d be satisfied being 80% of the way to perfect (for, y’know, 20% of the cost of perfect). As I learn more, I find that I’m very willing to pay the extra 80% to gain the additional 20% for perfection.

“Mind clean” has become both confessional and penance

 

[LLJsmom]

There is a lot in this question. Quality. Budget. Size. Quality to me means "right" for me. And "right" for me means I've GOT to LOVE it. I have to be pretty much OBSESSED with it. I've discovered while searching for a super ideal, general rules seldom work for me. I rejected 4 before I found one I love. Once I've figured out what I want, I cannot settle for anything that is not THAT. So budget often is a hurdle I can't overcome. A lot of the stuff I want is out of my budget, and I refuse to get a substitute, which means I get nothing at all. Bummer for me. But I know that I would be happy with it for only a minute, and then I'd be back to scheming to get what I actually wanted. Size doesn't play into pieces very much, except for diamonds It's designer pieces where size doesn't come into play as much. It just needs to be "right".

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

The more I learn about Something, the more important ideal/perfect/uncompromising becomes to me (in the context of that Something).

I have a number of pieces wherein I thought I’d be satisfied being 80% of the way to perfect (for, y’know, 20% of the cost of perfect). As I learn more, I find that I’m very willing to pay the extra 80% to gain the additional 20% for perfection.

“Mind clean” has become both confessional and penance

Your pieces are absolutely stunning yssie! I’m hard pressed to choose a favourite of mine out of your things - the hair pin, the briolette earrings or the opal earrings all come to mind for me. All absolutely fabulous and real works of art. I think your “uncompromisingness” definitely comes through (in a good way)!

Interesting thought about mind clean. I feel like for me mind clean is probably harder to find with settings than with stones. I still wouldn’t spend the Earth on settings, but badly finished pieces grate on me more than lower quality stones. I’m definitely a “80% perfect for 20% the cost of 100% perfect” though

There is a lot in this question. Quality. Budget. Size. Quality to me means "right" for me. And "right" for me means I've GOT to LOVE it. I have to be pretty much OBSESSED with it. I've discovered while searching for a super ideal, general rules seldom work for me. I rejected 4 before I found one I love. Once I've figured out what I want, I cannot settle for anything that is not THAT. So budget often is a hurdle I can't overcome. A lot of the stuff I want is out of my budget, and I refuse to get a substitute, which means I get nothing at all. Bummer for me. But I know that I would be happy with it for only a minute, and then I'd be back to scheming to get what I actually wanted. Size doesn't play into pieces very much, except for diamonds It's designer pieces where size doesn't come into play as much. It just needs to be "right".

It’s often difficult to distill down a question as broad as “jewelry philosophy” into something meaningful for discussion lol. So yeah I think the question isn’t well stated, I’m not very good at that haha. I do appreciate you taking a crack at answering though!

I do agree with what you say about it needing to be right for YOU. I’ve definitely had this happen where I’ve fallen in love with something that isn’t perfect but it’s perfect for me. I also love taking on projects for jewelry design. I don’t like wearing very “standard” things, which is why I have very few designer pieces.

I do agree very much with not settling for something you won’t be happy with. Like for me, I am perfectly happy with almost all the pieces I have that are of lower quality. I wear them all.

I do wish I felt like you did about size. I don’t know why but I rarely gravitate towards delicate things

 

[Diamond Girl 21]

I think this is interesting to me because it’s like, what defines quality? For example I was thinking of these earrings I had made by dismantling an couple of old bracelets that I had with small diamonds in them. Those diamonds were quite included (no issues with structural stability, but eye visible inclusions at a very small size) and my jeweler was like “are you sure you want to use these, they’re quite included” and I said something like “well, what will I do with the bracelets anyway? I’ll rather have the earrings, and who’s going to see the inclusions once my hair is down?”

That being said, it’s super important to me that the setting is done well. I get really irritated with sloppy finishing. I’m lucky that my jeweler is very reasonably priced for handforged stuff because I get everything custom and handforged if I’m getting something new, if possible. Of course sometimes I do just buy something already made, but I usually like to tweak things to make them mine. I do have a bracelet that was given to me many years ago as a gift, which is not well made. It’s not worth getting it redone because the labour cost would outstrip the cost of materials and it doesn’t have any issues face up at polite viewing distance, but the sloppy prongs and badly finished/polished underside irritates me. I still wear it occasionally but much less frequently than I’d want to.



I understand this also - for me there’s a point where even if I could afford to spend more, I wouldn’t. Budget is still top of the list as far as priority goes haha.

I think it can be personal. For me, quality means meeting my strictess requirements. However, I do make sure I stick with a price point I can afford. When I was younger, I would sometimes settle for a nice piece that wasn't exactly what I wanted. Now, I wait until I have the funds to get exactly what I want.

 

[dk168]

I am currently waiting for a number of low cost pieces to be made (rings and pendants), in Rhodium-plated Silver with or without Moissys. These were not made in time for shipment before 2020 ended.

After these lot, I shall have a little rest, before having some of my nicer CSs to be set later this year.

DK