Engagement ring wisdom

Received wisdom in this case is contrary to common sense.

The choice should be between the nicest ring you can afford, and the best value ring you can find – that you can afford. Let me explain….

Any purchase these days can be made more sensibly by using the internet as your tool of choice. The high street is the final part of any purchase, not the first.

So, if you research well, understand what it is you want (style, size etc) then play off all suppliers against each over until you have what is likely to be the best possible price.

Failing this, the next best thing is to be in Hatton Garden as early as is humanly possible on a Monday morning. Legend has it that Jewish jewellers find it very unlucky to miss the first potential sale of the week – and are therefore more likely to give you a good deal.

This is probably as reliable as the received wisdom (see above). So stick to the Webinet.

Pay For Designer Jewellery? Or Stick With Just Stylish Jewellery?

I wouldn’t pay extra for designer jewellery. There are many reasons that one may feel attracted to the world of designer brands and labels:

1. They may feel insecure in themselves, and the lavish expenditure on a fabulously, expensive designer items can leave them feeling important, accepted and in fitting with society. It thus helps to boost one’s self-esteem

2. They may belong to a certain group in society, be it due to wealth, status or otherwise, and believe it necessary to follow suit in purchasing the designer items that others in their social network are buying.

3. They may be in denial over their financial situation and, while actually falling more and more into debt, believe they need to prove to themselves and the world that they do not have a financial problem, and can still afford the finer things in life.

These are, of course, to name but a few. Others may include genres such as greed and vanity. However, none of these reasons seem justifiable in spending thousands of pounds on a piece of designer jewellery when a regular £10 piece of jewellery looks exactly the same. It is probably safe to assume that no-one actually looks that closely unless you bring it to their attention.

Furthermore, if most people are like me in this area, they will tend to break and lose jewellery fairly easily, and to know you’ve lost an expensive piece of fine jewellery would be 3 times as disheartening!

Designer Fashion – We’d All Like To Have It

Is designer gear worth the money? Absolutely not. Can we justify spending a month’s pay packet on a pair of shoes? Absolutely!

Okay so the shoes are probably producing a fifty billion percent profit margin, but if we choose to spend the money that we work hard to earn on a new house or car it’s acceptable, so why should clothes be any different.

Spend your money on what you want! I am of the personal opinion that designer gear is a waste of time, but if it’s what floats your boat then why should you be judged on the way you’re choosing to live your life?

Besides, I must admit that were I to come into a sudden buck and upon walking down Sloane Street, stumbled upon an absolutely fabulous, excruciatingly priced gown that I’d never EVER wear, it’d be in my wardrobe in a flash.

Is designer jewellery worth the money?

Designer jewellery (and clothes, whilst we’re at it) might look fashionable; but what are we paying for, really? The fancy box the bracelet comes in? The bag it is packaged in? Designer brands were invented specifically for the rich to have a way to flaunt their money in a fashionable way, and for jewellery gangs to have something glamorous to steal. OK, I’ll admit it – even I have had a weak moment where I’ve trawled down New Bond Street at peeked in the window at Tiffany & Co longingly, but then something brings me back down to earth.

I could probably go into Primark and find a replica of the exact bracelet for thousands of pounds cheaper; no, that’s not me being a ‘cheapskate,’ it’s me being rational. The truth is the only designer brands I own say “Anna,” written in red marker pen on the label. And I’d like to keep it that way. (Of course, if I win the lottery tonight, my view might change completely.)