8 tips to pick jewellery for a gift

Even if women say that they do not wish to receive anything as a gift, jewellery always brings a smile on their face. But how to find the right one in the huge selection? Here’s your cheat sheet!

Jewellery has always been a prized gift. Giving jewellery is a gesture carrying a strong message of love, care and your role in someone’s life. It does not matter what kind of jewellery you give to the important person in your life, it will have a considerable sentimental value as it will always be accompanied by a story – where it came from, who gave it, what was the event etc.

Selecting such an important gift is naturally very difficult. At the jewellery shop we are often asked for advice on how to navigate in the abundant world of jewellery. What is the right piece of jewellery? It requires a little detective work! Here are 8 tips to guide your search. If you think along and nail the answer to most of the questions, the right choice is almost there.

1. What is the wearer’s general style like? Fast fashion, classics or contemporary design?

Jewellery is similar to clothes – there are styles that go out of fashion and there are the classics that you can wear also in 10 years with full certainty that it is still amazing. Jewellery is usually given to a person whose taste we already know. See, for instance, if she prefers fast fashion with large chains or if she makes timeless choices?

Designer jewellery is a whole different category – there are well-known brands among jewellery designers but also somewhat less-known names whose works are equally eye-catching. Much like with designer clothes, also designer jewellery is accompanied by a particular prestige. The price tends to be higher, but then again, they will not lose their value in time.

If you can make the choice between the given three options, you can pretty much decide whether you should step in a regular jewellery shop, visit designer websites or some fast fashion chains.

2. See what kind of materials she wears

First of all, you should make sure if the person tolerates other materials apart from precious metals. Sometimes people can wear only gold and platinum, most people can also wear silver but many women cannot wear anything else. Silver usually suits the light complexion of Estonian women better but there are also “gold girls” with a naturally warm skin tone. Which one is your lady?

If you cannot decide and do not wish to reveal you plans either, you could, for instance, compliment some of her jewellery and ask for the material to start the topic. The advantages and disadvantages of precious metals are basically as follows:

PLATINUM
- Hypoallergenic, requires little maintenance
- Durable, will not tarnish
- Usually with a light sheen

GOLD (yellow, white, black or pink/red)
-Several tones (choose the one preferred by the wearer)
- Does not tarnish easily
- Various pieces of jewellery have different gold content and price

SILVER
- Much more affordable than gold and platinum
- Durable
- Available with different silver content (standards 800/830/925) and price

3. Set your budget

The material largely already sets your budget. The least expensive jewellery includes artificial materials, gold-plated and silver-plated items, also various synthetic gemstones, plastic and glass. Actually, the famous Swarovski crystals are not real either, they are made of high-quality crystal glass tinted with natural crystal hues.

Anyway, you should now know the person’s preferences in material and decide if it is within your budget. Jewellery is always an investment, and much like any other investment, it is worth analysing your purchase first. For instance, when buying gold-plated jewellery, you should ask how many microns the gold surface is. If it is 1, don’t buy it, as the golden surface will wear out already within a month. The higher the number, the longer the golden hue will remain.

The precious metal and precious stone resources in the world are limited, thus, jewellery made of real materials will never lose its value. Also the price of high-quality gemstones can only increase in the future, in case of both precious and semi-precious gemstones.

4. A ring? Earrings? A set?

A ring is not usually a good idea for a gift, as you would need to know the exact size. A random pick in this case can result in a complete miss. However, if you still wish to buy a ring, you could borrow a ring from the person’s jewellery box and have the goldsmith measure it.

It would be safer to opt for a pendant or chain, but also here the size plays an important role. You should know the length of the chain and also the length of the pendant to go with it. The pendant looks best when resting proudly in the middle of the wearer’s chest, not too high below the chin nor too low between her breasts. They allow you to try it on in the jewellery shop, but people’s measures are very different and the result may not quite be so good.

Earrings are somewhat easier as in this case you only need to pay attention to what kind of earrings the person prefers to wear – either small studs on the earlobe or dangling ones or something else. Women also tend to have their preferences in the clutch, so it is worth checking also that.

The most convenient gift for the wearer is a set of jewellery. In most shops, the sales assistants can suggest a chain matching the pendant, a bracelet to accompany earrings or something else. Then the person does not need to start matching the new jewellery with older ones.

5. What style should I choose?

There are thousands of jewellery styles to choose from. First of all, take a look at the jewellery that she usually wears – you can browse through her Facebook pics, for instance. Now try to generalise – is it minimalism? Or perhaps something more luxurious and abundant? Are there flower child colours or is it strictly black and white?

Roughly taken, jewellery may be divided into two categories – modern and vintage. Simpler and more modern jewellery can be found in most jewellery shops in shopping centres, but if she prefers vintage, you should give it some more thought. Or just buy WildWoman. :) Once you have set some plans about the style, you can think about the particular type of jewellery.

6. With or without gemstones?

We tend to think that women desire diamonds, but actually there are numerous other rarer, cooler and even more expensive gems and crystals in the world. Semi-precious stones such as topaz, amethyst, citrine crystal etc are less expensive but equally sparkling and much more versatile.

If you opt for gemstones, you could start by asking if the person has a favourite colour to wear. In that case the gemstone can easily be matched with the suitable colour and jewellery will suit her wardrobe also in the future. In case you choose semi-precious stones, you should also pay attention to their energy features. For instance, rose quartz is considered a crystal of love, citrine crystal a creator of abundance, garnet increases passion etc. You can thus add sweet messages in the jewellery even if you do not have faith in the power of the stone.

The suitable crystal is often selected on the basis of the zodiac sign. Check the person’s birthday and see what kind of crystals suit her best. The easiest way is to choose the crystal according to the month of birth. It is a bit different in different cultures, so see Wikipedia for more or photo below (photo from Pinterest).

7. Should I add a personalised message to the jewellery?

An engraved message on jewellery is definitely a cherry on the cake. The engraving can be made inside the jewellery (e.g. rings, medallions) but also outside (pendant), with the selection of engraved surfaces equally wide. However, before you buy the jewellery, it is worth checking in the shop if the given item may be engraved.

An engraving requires a sufficient amount of smooth surface to fit the message on. And it is also worth considering that it must be possible to fix the engraved item –in case of jewellery with peculiar shapes, it may not always be possible without damaging it.

8. Choose a reliable shop!

All in all, there is actually no such thing as right or wrong jewellery. The world is full of gorgeous jewellery! The only important thing is that you make an informed choice. If you opt for precious metals and precious stones, buy it from a reliable vendor. You can gullibly order an allegedly silver item from AliExpress which actually turns out to be nickel-plated white metal.

When buying silver jewellery, make sure to ask if it has proper 925 standard mark. Gold should have at least 585 mark. The best option is when the jewellery is tested by an assay office. In a proper jewellery shop, the items are tested and employees trained to provide you with comprehensive information on the products and you can be sure that you get what you pay for. This way you can be certain that the silver jewellery will not turn yellow in a few months and there is no nickel in the alloy (most people are allergic to it and it is forbidden in jewellery in EU).

It is also important that the precious stones or semi-precious stones are real. Plastic and glass may indeed look good at first but they usually do not last as long as high-quality gemstone. Unfortunately, the truth in the world of jewellery is that the cheapest choice cannot possibly be the most qualitative option. The largest collection of silver jewellery in Estonia and numerous exhilarating gemstones are waiting for you in WildWoman.

________________________________________________

Foto: Acharaporn Kamornboonyarush from Pexels