What? How does that even make sense? Designer jewelry is expensive, and fine designer jewelry is going to cost me a paycheck! I promise it’ll make sense. Give me a chance.
Fine jewelry is my favorite accessory and one of the only accessories that I will invest my money in. Many of my favorite Influencers have collections of designer jewelry, even fine designer jewelry (Cartier anyone?) that I drool over but it’s out of my reach. It’s something I can aspire to but for now, it’s best to save up. Over the years I learned one thing: it’s best to save your money and invest it where you have an ROI (return on investment). Why spend hundreds if not, thousands of dollars on designer dupes or costume jewelry? I love jewelry but I want it to last!
What is Fine Designer Jewelry?
Many luxury designers like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier, sell fine jewelry, which is jewelry containing precious metals and gemstones (even diamonds). Fine jewelry has more value and better resell value than costume jewelry.
Costume jewelry is usually gold-plated or made of base metal. With time, they oxidize and tarnish causing the pieces to turn dark or green. Because fine jewelry is usually gold or silver, these pieces can last a lifetime. They will withstand daily wear and tear and will not tarnish. Fine jewelry can be polished and cleaned to maintain its luster and though they’re built to last lifetimes, we still recommend following the proper care.
Designer fine jewelry is upping the ante, as they say, because not only are you paying a premium price for gold and silver (even diamonds) but you’re also paying a price for the designer. For example, a simple canvas handbag can cost under $100 if you purchase from Macy’s. If you purchase any monogram canvas handbags from Louis Vuitton, you’ll be spending over 10x the amount! In that case, you’ll think to save your money and purchase the same style bag somewhere else right?
What if I told you, you can purchase custom designer jewelry?
What is Custom Designer Jewelry?
I feel like purchasing custom jewelry, especially fine jewelry is a practice that we, South Asians practice more than anyone else in the world. While most of us wear 22 or 24kt gold (it’s too soft for my liking), because of the price point of gold, we look to customize each piece we purchase.
Guess what?
You can too!
Now before we continue, I want to mention one thing very clearly. The designs I mention are in no way meant to be sold as original designer pieces. Custom pieces are created with your ideas in mind. I know this can sound confusing, but I promise I’ll clear up all of your doubts as we go along.
Purchasing Fine Designer Jewelry
The last time I ever purchased fine designer jewelry was back in college when I bought my first Tiffany & Co. piece. All of my friends had the heart tag bracelet, which is still one of my favorite pieces to wear. It’s made of sterling silver. But every time I check the site to buy something to stack with it, the prices are higher than before!
Designer jewelry is already expensive, but fine jewelry kicks it up a notch. If you want to go the route and buy fine designer jewelry, consider purchasing something preloved and save your money. There are many consignment stores you can purchase from, especially one like Fashionphile.
I know it sounds like a turnoff to buy designer jewelry preloved. But if it’s gold and has diamonds, it might not be a bad idea. Consider it an investment piece.
Why are you purchasing it?
Think about why you want the designer piece in the first place. If it’s something trendy that you want to wear, I would consider purchasing preloved. You can take it to a jeweler, sometimes even a designer boutique, and ask them to clean and polish it for you. It’ll look brand new! I take my Tiffany pieces in all the time and trust me, they do an amazing job! I feel like my 16-year-old bracelet was just purchased yesterday!
If it’s something you want to gift someone, and it’s at a price point that works, buy it from the designer brand new!
Sometimes we’re unsure about a piece of jewelry and we consider selling it later on. If it’s fine jewelry we can sell the gold for money, but if it’s just a costume designer piece things can get tricky. You get more ROI for fine jewelry than just the brand name. Why?
Fine jewelry lasts longer. Costume jewelry, even if it was a designer, might not wear that well. When you consider reselling it, all of these factors come into play. So if you’re looking to purchase as an investment to sell later on, I’d still go the fine route or you can buy a limited edition piece and keep it in mint condition.
But you want to save your money right? Read on.
Creating Custom Designer Jewelry
What’s the first thing you think of when you see my ring? It’s a custom Designer piece of fine jewelry. Mouthfull? Custom because I got it made as per my requirements. Designer because it’s technically designed by me but it’s copied from a well-known designer brand that rhymes with Fartier. Fine, because it’s made of 14K gold with VS clarity diamonds around the head and the tip.
What did it cost me? Well, you can look up the price of the original ring, and I can tell you I paid less than half! Mine is the regular size, not the small that the brand offers, so keep that in mind too!
Can you do the same as I did? Can you get the same deal?
Of course! I love you guys!
What I did was find a jeweler I loved and trusted. He’s an Etsy jeweler but I have been purchasing from him for a long time. I’ve nearly given him thousands and thousands of dollars in business! He’s that good!
If you have someone that you trust, that’s great! But my recommendation would be Gaganpreet from Jaipur. I trust him and I have nothing negative to say because he never gives me the chance to say it! He’s an amazing designer and person to work with. I get nothing from telling you guys this so please don’t think I’m being sponsored.
I came across Gaganpreet’s shop by chance and all I do is stalk it! In the past, I’ve purchased a few of his designs, and lately, I’ve been asking him to create some for me. The ring above is one of my latest pieces.
What Do You Ask For?
When wanting to customize a fine designer piece of jewelry, ask your jeweler if he can custom-make the design for you. You’re not asking him to label it by the brand name, and he isn’t going to sell it as the original designer piece either.
Many people have been doing this to save money!
Sometimes we come across pieces we love but we want them altered to our liking. For example, there are many engagement ring designs that Tiffany and Company are famous for. But some people can’t afford them (most of us can’t). Maybe you don’t want a diamond, or you want it two-tone gold, or some other detail needs to be changed. Why settle? Use the designer jewelry design as a template and get creative.
Always remember to ask:
- What are the making charges?
- Specify what type of gold you want to use and ask for the total weight in grams
- Ask for a CAD design
- For example, with Gaganpreet, he’ll send me photographs or “Computer Aided Design” pictures of what my piece will look like. Make sure it’s what you want so that they can update your piece before they start working
- Return Policy or Repair Costs
What If You Want Diamonds?
Ask for the type of diamonds (lab created or mined) and make sure you cover all the Cs. What are the Cs?
Cut: How the diamond is cut. If you have smaller diamonds, like as an accent, then it doesn’t make sense to worry about it.
Color: The closer to the beginning of the alphabet the color of the diamond is classified, the more colorless it is. A “z” color diamond would be very dark and yellow. When purchasing a piece that has a solitaire or a bigger-sized diamond, this might be something you want to look into.
Clarity: This will tell you how included, or cloudy your stone is. They categorize diamonds using, I (included), SI (slightly included), VS (very slightly included), and VVS (very very slightly included). There are other categories like Flawless (the most expensive), or Internally Flawless where there are no inclusions on the inside up until a certain magnification. Everyone’s taste is different. With Gaganpreet, all of my jewelry from his shop has VS or VVS clarity diamonds.
Carat: This measures the size of the diamonds. Naturally, the higher the carat weight, the more expensive they are.
If at all possible, ask for a certificate or for them to send a video testing your stones. I have had jewelers test my pieces and send me a recording along with the guarantee certificate. If you guys use Gaganpreet, I will guarantee you that everything he uses is high quality. I have never had any issues.
In The End…
You don’t need to spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for fine designer jewelry. You can pay less and get the same quality by going for custom Designer jewelry. Find a jeweler you trust and don’t be afraid to ask questions! Save your money and invest in something of value! You don’t need to spend $1000 to make an investment. You’re not only paying for fine jewelry, but you’re paying more for the brand. Brands can get canceled any day. Just look at Balenciaga. Yup, I went there.
If you have any questions feel free to reach out! And give SNJ Jewels a visit on Etsy! (Sometimes he has coupon codes, so use them and save more money!)
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