10 Rules for Jewellery Collection
A collector of beautiful things, jewellery is something not to miss out on. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes and documenting my rules of jewellery now.
Educate, Exposure, Experience
With everything, it’s about education, then exposure in real life then experiencing it. That is my learning process, which I will write some day.
Educate
In jewellery, I educate myself in many ways, mainly by watching YouTube videos of people talking about the item. For example, there was a time I was into diamonds. I wen tot a diamond workshop, spent lots of time on GIA websites and other website learning about diamonds, then watching videos on various types of diamonds. For example, auction sites like Christie’s are good sources of information as they share and tell stories of pieces they are auctioning off. That is a good way to learn about some of the top echelons of diamonds. Some Diamond/Gemstone YouTube: Christie’s, GIA, House of Gems. I would also watch some YouTube videos of really wealthy youtube personalities sharing their massive jewellery haul. Some people definitely seem more knowledgable about their pieces and share the reason for purchase, while others simply purchase for collection purposes. Big fan of Cassie Thrope. Also, any brand that is sponsored, I ignore.
Exposure
I believe in being offline. And that means seeing pieces in real life. That includes going to museums, going to shops, touching, holding and seeing how the pieces look on your skin. I prefer fine jewellery to costume jewellery. Chanel usually has fine jewellery exhibitions and they are a great way to be exposed to beautiful things. Vintage shops and consignment shops are also great. The general jewellery shops are also amazing. I always wanted a crown (or tiara) and went into a shop to try on a 1kg solid 24k gold phoenix crown. Did I consider buying it, yes since gold is a good investment anyway. But it looked way too loud and I have no idea when I’d wear it. Whatever it is, being exposed to these actual pieces help me to build up my interest and preference to beautiful things.
Experience
All these homework leads to collecting beautiful pieces and adding to one’s collection. So with the knowledge acquired, go out and experience the pieces then add them to your collection. I use “experiences” not “collection” because there will be mistakes. I have made mistakes with certain pieces and they no longer exist in my collection. So experiences — both good and bad — are necessary in the process of collecting beautiful things.
10 Rules
When I’m not raiding my mum’s closet for beautiful things, I have rules to follow when collecting these pieces. Many from after making mistakes.
Gold: I only buy 22k and 24k full gold. Never gold plated. This was a mistake because I got a gold plated on copper bracelet in Vienna and the gold came off after wearing it everyday for 2 summers. Only buy full gold. I’m also asian so we love our 22k and 24k gold. I know other countries do 9k, 10k and 14k gold. I don’t understand the point of that. To buy gold, calculate it as (weight of gold x price of gold + workmanship). There is no other way. Gold is both an investment and a beautiful piece on me. I’m getting my money’s worth. Workmanship is what you can negotiate. Price of gold, not. And check the price of gold that day when buying. I can’t imagine other ways to buy gold jewellery. Maybe vintage shops. That is also good. They don’t calculate by weight. Just keep hunting.
Silver, Platinum, White gold: only buy these materials when looking for silver colour. 925 silver is very common and 999 silver is also possible. Platinum is so hard and strong, I love it. My gold x platinum bracelet that I wear every single day is a work horse. And the platinum clearly looks like a much better condition than silver. I love yellow gold so I do not have white gold pieces. Fun fact, although silver, platinum and white gold (and stainless steel) are all silvery colours, they are actually vastly different shades of silver! I like silver as it is.
Diamonds: I was really into diamonds at one phase. I won 3 diamonds at an auction and went them for checks. Spoke to the uncle who certifies diamonds and we had a great chat. I wanted to make my own jewellery so I wanted loose diamond pieces that I can customise. Anyway, long story short, if I am buying more diamonds in the future, top grade man made diamonds are my choice. It’s just much better quality and it sparkles better. I am not a fan of low grade quality diamond (salt and pepper diamond) while paying diamond prices. It just seems so silly to me. The carat size is also very important to how the piece will be worn. A giant diamond on a finger might be too much but a giant diamond as a tiara or headpiece is a classic.
Gemstones: Gemstones was introduced to me by a friend. I wanted to get into gemstones (hence the diamond above) and we spent about 3h just talking about gemstones. I bought 4 pieces from her. I still have not created custom pieces from the loose gemstones from her oops. But I love coloured gemstones. I also don’t mind man made gemstones. I love sapphire and ruby (they are the same gemstone). But, buying gemstone can be a big challenge because there are so many low grade ones. Hence, getting exposure is very important, by allowing your eyes to see plenty of gems before buying. I also highly recommend buying them (if you’re into collecting) in places where they originate. E.g. Myanmar for ruby and sapphire. Pakistan for gemstones in general. Tanzania for tanzanite. China for jade. Australia for opal. There is more competition and you can get better prices AND you can compare across various shops.
Bonus on pearl: I’m not at the age to wear pearls yet so I don’t know anything about pearls. But my mum is waiting for me to be into pearls so she can gift me her pearl pieces lol
Never buy brand names: I like being uNiQuE anyway, so I do not like buying big brand names nor buy fakes/dupes of these brand names like the Cartier love, Cartier JUC or any VCA items. Firstly, you’re just buying the brand name. Again, when it comes to gold, silver and platinum, you buy by weight + workmanship. The gold is not even 22k and the stones used by VCA is not that precious. It’s just silly to me. Secondly, I really dislike it when someone else has the same thing as me. Go and discover your own style, do not copy mine. That’s also silly. Lastly, I want unique pieces, especially when it’s handmade, hand crafted by a master that specialises in a specific skillset all his life. Just like you have patrons of the art, be a patron of beautiful jewellery artists. On bonus forth item reason, I hate it when someone looks at me and can read me like a magazine. No, I do NOT want you to know where I got my items. Yes, I want to be a mysterious woman. Thank you.
Buy in person: Online seems like a limitless wonderful land but with photoshop and AI now, I do not buy online. I always buy in person. I’m also fortunate enough to travel around and I get to shop globally, see the pieces and try them on. Big fan of buying in person.
Have a personal/family jeweller: I am not at this phase in life yet, but this is definitely something I’ve been thinking about for 2 years now. I don’t need one now because I simply don’t need new pieces. I have more pieces that my mum can’t wait to gift me and I’m barely keeping up with my current collection to make sure they are worn. It makes perfect sense to have custom pieces and made by a master you know. Similar to #5, never buy brand names.
Buy the craftsmanship: I am a BIG fan of mastery. So I haven’t been buying gold and silver lately simply because I have too many pieces. It is enough. But I was in the city of porcelain (景德镇) and I met so many porcelain masters there. You know I needed to get it. I bought 5 pieces of fine porcelain earrings, hand shaped and hand painted by this porcelain master. Each flower petal is just so unique and although they are pairs, they do not look identical. What a privilege to be able to purchase such crafts and wear it on me. I feel so lucky.
Fine every day jewellery: I prefer fine jewellery to loud pieces. I do not want my pieces to speak on my behalf. When I purchase pieces, I also consider how often I’d wear them. For example, I have 6 bracelets on my hand every single day and 3 necklaces. I never take them off unless I’m travelling to certain places. I don’t buy costume jewellery.
No plated: oh wow I can’t believe I didn’t write this as rule 1. I made 2 mistakes of plated jewellery. The gold plated on copper and also 24k gold plate on sterling silver. The one on copper has faded bc I keep wearing it at one point (it has now broken). The gold on sterling is still working but when I wear it with my 24k gold, the yellowness is just different. 24k yellow is just a much better yellow. I could have done without.
These are my personal rules from the mistakes I have made. I haven’t bought pieces in a while and more often than not, I’d only buy new pieces for its craftsmanship (#8). Otherwise, I truly have enough for my lifestyle. Unless I become someone that goes to fancy events every week and I need a huge collection, I highly doubt I will get new pieces any time soon.
Keep collecting beautiful jewellery. And then WEAR THEM.
Love,
L