How To Buy Jewelry For Women, From One Guy to Another
The Trials and Tribulations of Shopping and Buying Jewelry for Her ~ by Jeremy Gold
Question guys: Do you find shopping for jewelry a daunting task? Does the thought of walking into a jewelry store leave you overwhelmed and weak-kneed?
Have you ever wanted to get the significant other in your life the gift of jewelry but…chickened out at the last minute? You didn’t have a clue where to shop, much less what to get her? Right?
Or maybe like me, you’ve actually walked in one of these jewelry stores only to be blinded by a vast array of rings that, except for minor details, all look the same!
How Do Ya Know? Ya Know?
Like we’re supposed to know what she likes! Like we’re supposed to know whether she likes round brilliant or princess cut diamonds. Like we’ve spent long evenings in front of a burning fire browsing jewelry catalogs with her and know exactly what she’s wants. Like we’re supposed to know what would make her happy and love us for the rest of our lives?
Another One of My Surveys
Just last week I surveyed every man in America over the age of 18 on this very topic. Imagine that! I found that 89% were totally intimidated by even the thought of buying their wives or girlfriends jewelry. I found 1% had some kind of god-given talent and actually knew what they were doing and regularly bought jewelry for the women in their lives.
The last 10% lived in mountainous regions of the country and gave their companions vacuum cleaners and waffle irons on special occasions.
How to Buy Jewelry for Women - Advice Time
Unless you know her exact tastes or know precisely what she wants, my advice would be: find out.
Over the years—and through much trial and error—I’ve learned that good communication is the key to any successful relationship.
Talk with her, discover what she really likes, and then give her something she’ll cherish and love forever.
Why take a chance on buying something totally outside her normal tastes?
Why risk getting something that'll end up at the bottom of her jewelry box and never see the light of day until her heirs dig it out fifty years later? Guys, talk to the woman.
But…
Some of you are thinking, “But I want to surprise her.” Others of you are thinking, “Talk with her? Too, complicated man. I just want to buy her a frikken piece of jewelry and be done with it.”
This last consideration isn’t the most romantic sentiment ever expressed, but I do acknowledge that there’re a bunch of you guys out there that subscribe to this philosophy.
If you fall into this category here’s what you should do: buy her an eighteen inch necklace or a pair of earrings with a promise from your jeweler that she can exchange the gift within a reasonable time after your purchase. Tell her you weren't sure what she'd like, but you wanted to get her something special. And tell her she can exchange it.
If you just have to get her a ring no matter what, make sure your jeweler can easily size the ring unless you miraculously know her finger size.
The Personal Jeweler to the Rescue
A Personal Jeweler, Knows What Your Girlfriend or Wife Loves
I've saved the best piece of advice for last: talk to your wife or girlfriend’s Personal Jeweler.
A Personal Jeweler is a Jeweler that knows your significant other’s tastes in jewelry. She’s talked with her and knows what your gal wants. And a Personal Jeweler will be happy to assist you in procuring exactly the right gift!
If she hasn’t talked with your girl in a while, ask the Personal Jeweler to give her a call and find out what she really wants. For the record, my wife Calla Gold is a great Personal Jeweler. Seriously she picks out all the jewelry gifts I give her.
Final Pep Talk
Don’t be daunted and don’t deny the love of your life jewelry gifts. Go forth, be bold and get the kind of gift that won’t be forgotten.
Jeremy Gold
Calla Gold Jewelry
Great article for the jewelry-impaired who love the jewelry-obsessed! A million thank yous!
Great article for the jewelry-impaired who are in love with the jewelry-obsessed! A million thank yous!
Jill, Just the best comment ever!!!
Calla Gold
Jeremy-great post and funny. A great idea about buying a piece of jewelry which can be exchanged for exactly what she wants. Thoughtful.
The philosophy of “I just want to buy her a frikken piece of jewelry and be done with it” could be taken as an indication that the woman should find another man who cares, and wants to be involved in the process and her happiness.
Alison, you hit the nail on the head with the choice of guy our girl should be going for.
Jeremy says thanks for the feedback!
Calla Gold
I wish every guy out there would read this! Jeremy painted an easy picture of communicating with your spouses personal jeweler and offered an alternative solution of buying a piece of jewelry to exchange to her liking.
Bottom line, listening is key to learning what a woman likes in jewelry. Great read!
Jackie, Thank you for your comments! Getting the guys viewpoint in seemed like a good idea since guys do a lot of the Jewelry buying for their loves.
Calla Gold
Personal Jeweler to the Rescue…drum roll…love that!! You definitely have rescued me a few times. Thank you!! And Jeremy’s “Survey’s” about men buying jewelry for women, were most amusing.
Appreciatively,
Lynn
Dr. Lynn K. Jones, Certified Personal and Executive Coach
http://www.lynnkjones.com
The Personal Jeweler was my former father-in-law’s secret weapon when it came to gifts for his wife. Every couple of months, his wife would go down to the jeweler (it was located right in their community) and browse. The jeweler would take note of what she liked. Then, the next holiday, he’d pop in to the jeweler and buy one of the items his wife had admired. And since the “admiring” and the “purchasing” were not close together, she was always pleasantly surprised with his gift. It was a system that worked well for them for many, many years. He… Read more »
Lesa, I love the story of your Dad in law’s smart thoughtfulness.
I’m thinking that his son’s failure to emulate the wise patriarch was a factor in him losing in the wedded bliss sweepstakes. May your next love have the wisdom to find his Personal Jeweler! And of course chose a proper jewelry loving woman like yourself.
Calla Gold
What a great story and information for guys who are looking for something special and golden for their lady!
Thanks for weighing in on this post!
Calla Gold
I like giving coworkers, friends and relatives gift bags with fun items centered around a theme. I’ve assembled bags with travel accessories, sewing notions, items to keep in a purse, lunch bags, etc. I have a lot of fun with this and everyone seems to enjoy them. I am thinking of putting together a gift bag for jewelry, but not knowing everyone’s taste or needs (and wanting to keep the cost down), I thought about filling a jewelry caddy/organizer with things related to jewelry like a ring sizer, a bracelet “buddy”, necklace extenders, necklace shorteners, extra earring backs, etc. I… Read more »
Hello Suzanne, You are a woman after my own heart. I love to give practical gifts. One of my earliest jobs was selling Fuller Brushes door to door and I loved giving away the free vegetable brushes, because people liked them so much. I laid in a huge supply and every couple of years I’d put them on top of gift boxes. Recently we had a neighborhood party and I grabbed a box and started giving them to all my female neighbors. They were a big hit as were my stories of funny things that happen selling door to door.… Read more »
It makes sense that the best way to buy jewelry for your wife is by communicating with her and discussing what she likes. My wife and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary and I want to get something special for the occasion but worry that it won’t be what she wants. I will make sure to ask her questions before buying her an expensive piece of jewelry.
Dear Stefan,
I love that you want to get her a memorable piece of jewelry. Talking to her will no doubt lead you to choosing the perfect piece.
Whenever she wears it she’ll remember you gave it to her as a celebration of your love for her.
Your Personal Jeweler,
Calla
You made such a great point to talk to her before you buy her jewelry so that you know she’ll like it and it will fit her. My son is planning on proposing to his girlfriend in March on their vacation to Hawaii. I will give him this tip to help him pick out the best ring.
Hi Sabrina,
That’s really nice that you are giving him some good advice. It can be tough to totally surprise someone when you think about the fact that some women have large boned hands and some women have tiny hands and some work with their hands. Seriously, the shape of their fingers as well as their lifestyle, needs to be factored in when choosing an engagement ring, as well as their personal taste.
You are doing him a giant favor by advising him.
Your Personal Jeweler,
Calla