It’s Memo­r­ial Day week­end and many peo­ple, includ­ing myself, will be going to flea mar­kets and tag sales. In order find those elu­sive bar­gains, you need to have some idea of what it is that you are buy­ing. Here are a few sug­ges­tions to help you dis­cover a treasure:

1. A mag­ni­fy­ing glass or jeweler’s loupe.

–I always carry my ten power (10x) loupe with me and I won’t leave home with­out it. The way to use one is to first bring the loupe to your eye and then bring the item of jew­elry to the loupe. This is very impor­tant to do, oth­er­wise you will not be able to view the orna­ment cor­rectly. If a jeweler’s loupe is too com­pli­cated or not handy, then bring along a small mag­ni­fy­ing glass. While the glass won’t have the same mag­ni­fi­ca­tion power (it will be about 3x), it will help you to deter­mine con­di­tion and if there is a sig­na­ture on the piece.

2. Always try on…

–I know this sounds silly, but I’ve seen many peo­ple admire some­thing and then just buy it. You must know if the item will sit well and fit you prop­erly. If it is too big, take that into con­sid­er­a­tion. Address the issue of hav­ing it made smaller and fig­ure that into the price you will be pay­ing for it. Some rings can­not be made smaller for fear of pop­ping gems right out of their set­tings. Link bracelets usu­ally can be made smaller, just do not toss out the removed links. If you go to sell the chain later, you will have the old links to restore the item to its orig­i­nal length.

Jew­elry can rarely be made larger suc­cess­fully. It will look awk­ward at best or jum­bled at worst. Also, make sure that the orna­ment feels good when you have it on. Is it smooth against the skin and com­fort­able. Is it heavy? If you notice its heft now, it will feel even heav­ier later after hours of wear. Are there any rough edges or sur­faces? You don’t want to snag a beloved sweater or ruin a silk blouse, so run your hand over the front and the back.

3. Con­di­tion, con­di­tion, condition

–Check the amount of wear on the item. You want the piece to be in the best con­di­tion pos­si­ble, even if it is vin­tage. If the jewel comes with its orig­i­nal box, then you may have some­thing spe­cial –or at least a well-cared for piece and that usu­ally means fewer dings and scratches. Any orna­ment that is an antique will have some evi­dence of its past and that is to be expected and some­times desir­able; there is noth­ing like the soft, warm patina that sil­ver and gold take on with age. Some of that is tar­nish, that can be gen­tly removed with a soft, clean rag and just a drop of sil­ver pol­ish or soap and water. Never immerse old jew­elry in water or in a jew­elry clean­ing machine, espe­cially if it set with pastes (rhine­stones) or gem­stones. Vin­tage cos­tume jew­elry needs TLC and not much else, and fine antique or estate pieces should be cleaned by a pro­fes­sional who has a clear under­stand­ing that preser­va­tion, not strip­ping the orna­ment of its orig­i­nal char­ac­ter, is of para­mount impor­tance to you.

4. Only buy what you love!

–There is no get­ting around this one. No mat­ter what you spy-and-buy, it must bring you years of plea­sure and the only way that will hap­pen is if you choose wisely, with care, and from the heart. Jew­elry was never intended to lan­guish in a dresser drawer or jew­elry box, it was meant to be worn and enjoyed. Brooches, rings, bracelets, or neck­laces are not neces­si­ties (well,…at least for most of us), so select­ing the right piece is sub­jec­tive and rather inti­mate. The Duke of Wind­sor wanted the Duchess’ exten­sive and unique col­lec­tion dis­man­tled upon her death so that no other woman could ever wear the gifts he bestowed upon the only woman he could ever imag­ine wear­ing them. Inter­est­ingly, and to her credit, the Duchess pro­vided in her will that her jew­els were to be sold at auc­tion for char­ity. Fifty mil­lion dol­lars was raised by the famous 1987 sale at Sotheby’s and ben­e­fited the Pas­teur Institute.

A jewel should take your breath away or bring a smile to your face or remind you of why you love some­one or any other rea­son that you can sum­mon. Why you admire any form of adorn­ment is for you to decide and the greater world should have no say in the mat­ter, unless asked. That’s why it’s called per­sonal style.