Wanting to surprise a woman with a beautiful piece of jewellery? The first thing you should know is that there is no one correct way to do so. Jewellery for her is the perfect anytime gift, and you shouldn’t worry about buying the wrong piece.
While it’s true that most women prefer silver over gold (for example) or gems (diamonds are touted as being a girl’s best friend, but many girls also like emeralds, rubies, and sapphires), so long as you take the time to pick a beautiful piece of jewellery, you can’t go wrong. Others would even prefer antique jewellery. It’s the thought that counts, after all.
Still, there are some things you’ll want to take into consideration when picking jewellery for her, here are some.
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Antique Jewellery for Her
Many of us consider pre-loved or ‘aged’ objects as valuable as modern ones, and with jewellery, it’s just the same. There’s just something enchanting about old jewellery, the story behind it, the way it was made, and you’d probably think, “they did make finer jewellery back in the days.”
<~ I got this amber bracelet and earring set as a coming back home gift from hubby when he went to Latvia. I really love this set and would wear them with an amber ring as well.
Browsing on Carus jewellery website, I saw a lot of beautiful pieces. One that caught my attention is the amber nugget stretch bracelet which reminded me of the one I own albeit a lot more wide, simpler, and elegant.
Looking around would make you lose sense of time, every piece is pretty. Make sure though that your SO is somewhere near when you browse so he gets the idea what to pick for you. 😉
Here are my top picks of antique jewellery. You can easily see the beauty and the craftmanship – each of them handmade. Antique jewellery are not mass-produced so it’s very probable that you would own one out of the 20 of the same design – truly valuable.
Gems
Natural or Synthetic? Natural gems may be your immediate preference, but keep in mind that naturally mined gems and precious metals are more expensive due to the time and effort involved with retrieving them. Also, natural gems may not have the bright colors or perfect cut that their lab-created counterparts do.
Don’t overlook “synthetic” gems and metals. They’re just as real as the authentic ones. The big difference is that because they are grown in a scientific setting. Their sizes, cuts, colors, and clarity can be better regulated and more defined, and they are certainly not fake as some think.
Some of the more common synthetic gems are sapphire or ruby, opal, amethyst, emerald, quartz, and even chrysoberyl. Personally, I have some synthetic gem on rings gifted by my Mom, one is a ruby as it is my birthstone.
The Cut of a Gemstone
Naturally found gems are actually rather rough and unappealing. It’s only after they have been harvested, cut, and polished, that their true beauty begins to shine through.
If you’ve ever set foot in a jewellery store you have undoubtedly noticed that gems may have different cuts. Most gems are cut by a precise strike being hit between the crystal layers, which causes that section to break away cleanly. Multiple cuts of different sizes and angles are used to create different resulting shapes and designs not limited to square, round, triangle, rose, baguette, trilliant, and marquise.
When I was younger, we had a jeweller who comes to visit us at home and offers her best prices, those were my first encounter with really pretty jewellery. Mom would sometime ask her for certain cuts that she would bring the next time she comes by.
Settings
Gems can be set into precious metals in many different fashions. Common settings include prong or shared prong settings, where tiny prongs extend upwards from the base of the ring or earring to hold the gem in place. Prong settings are most common in jewellery settings. But you will also find pave settings, in which gems lay flat and are placed very close together; as well as fancier settings, such as solitaire and bezel settings.
Deciding what type of gem, what cut of gem, and what setting of a gem is only half the battle when it comes to purchasing jewellery for her as a gift. You’ll also need to decide between a ring, a pair of earrings, a brooch, a necklace, or a bracelet. If you have some loose gems or pearls around, you can bring them to a jeweller and have them set as you prefer (as mentioned above, the jeweller who visits us also would do this kind of service). It would be more personalized and valuable.
Of course, if you really want to give a memorable gift, feel free to choose more than one of the above or a whole set. Picking jewellery for her may have a lot of considerations to take, but is now easy easy and convenient with online shopping.
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