What is Fine Jewelry? – It is jewelry made of a precious metal such as Platinum, Gold or silver and set with precious or semi-precious stones. Why is it important to make this distinction? Because all too often individuals are purchasing fashion jewelry and falsely assuming their jewelry is worth more than it is.
One vs. The Other – Fashion jewelry, also called cheap jewelry, almost diamonds, budget-friendly jewelry and costume jewelry, can be best described as imitations of fine jewelry. You can buy fashion jewelry for a fraction of the cost of fine jewelry. For example, a 1 carat Princess Cut Diamond Engagement Ring, will cost around $4800.00 to $6500.00, depending on the quality of the diamond, the setting and the jeweler. You can purchase a Cubic Zirconia look-a-like for around $25.00 to $70.00 at the most.
Fashion jewelry, with its gold plating, silver platting, synthetic diamonds, Cubic Zirconia’s and other man made stones will never compare to genuine jewelry in terms of looks, quality and staying power. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not knocking fashion jewelry, I’m just making sure that you clearly understand the difference between the two.
Fashion jewelry may sparkle in display cases under the specially designed lighting, but it simply lacks the staying power of the higher-quality pieces of fine jewelry. Everyone knows that gold and silver platted jewelry will eventually turn green and could possibly irritate your skin. The fake diamonds eventually loose their luster; some faster than others depending on how active the person is. Costume jewelry was not designed to stand up to sweat, heat, moisture or exposure to the elements.
Fine Jewelry; Crafted To Sparkle, Built To Last – When gemologists cut diamonds and goldsmiths craft settings, their vision is to craft a diamond engagement ring, wedding band set, diamond wedding ring or a diamond stud earring that has a sparkle and a fiery brilliance that’s breathtaking. In addition, their mission is to craft a sturdy design that lasts the tests of time. True jewelers know that their handiwork can easily become a family heirloom, that’s why with fine jewelry; attention to detail is the norm, not the exception.
If You Give Her Fashion Jewelry Versus Fine Jewelry Will She Look At You Differently? – That answer depends on the woman, her personality, her beliefs and her knowledge of jewelry. So women are going to look at the gesture and think that you view her as, cheap, temporary and/or not worth striving for. Let’s face it; all costume jewelry has an expiration date. That’s the date that the gold plating or silver plating starts to corrode. I recall one time when a woman came into one of my stores wondering why her diamond engagement ring was causing a green discoloration around her finger. You never know what the deal is until you check things out; it could have been anything.
When one of my jewelers glanced at the ring, (that’s all it took was a glance) he informed her that it was a Cubic Zirconia, a fake diamond. That woman broke out and started crying a river right there in the store. Her mascara was running and she just went limp. It took her almost thirty minutes to regain her composure. The look on her face said it all and then she went into the speech, “How could he do this to me, I thought he loved me!” But here’s the kicker, her fiance came into the store about three days later with a receipt showing that he bought the ring from a private seller for $1900.00. He thought he was buying a genuine 2-carat diamond ring at an amazing discount. Instead, he paid almost $2000.00 for a worthless piece of polished plastic on gold plated ring setting. The young man had never wore or bought any jewelry prior to that purchase and he had never heard the saying we live by in the jewelry business, “Trust but verify!” His loss has turned into your learning lesson. When it comes to any type of jewelry, make sure you confirm what you are getting.