When an eco­nomic down­turn dras­ti­cally affects how con­sumers spend their money note the lan­guage fash­ion mag­a­zines begin to bandy about. Words like “clas­sic” and “essen­tial” are tossed around like con­fetti. Sprin­kle a lit­tle here…and there…and sud­denly every­thing is some­thing you will use for­ever, dah­hh­ling. The most inter­est­ing idea to rise to the sur­face is that jew­elry is now the new black and a bet­ter “invest­ment” than say, a hand­bag. Well…hel­looo!!

As for “invest­ment” jew­elry, I’m sorry to say that despite all the edi­to­r­ial pro­nounce­ments, there really is no such thing. The best, most last­ing orna­ments are those you will wear because you love them, they suit you and you know will wear them for­ever, dah­hh­ling. Per­son­ally, I find a bracelet eter­nally appeal­ing, and I get to admire it all day long (unlike a neck­lace or a pair of ear­rings which you see only twice: when you put them on and take them off). It could be a hefty ban­gle or a yummy chain link –some­thing that I can wear with prac­ti­cally any­thing, for any time of day.

A fab­u­lous col­lec­tion of Retro from Camilla Dietz Berg­eron Ltd.

The two vin­tage bracelets above are not only beau­ti­ful but they are also time­less in their refine­ment.
This con­tem­po­rary bracelet from Carla Amorim has a sim­i­lar focus in terms of tex­ture but this one pos­sesses a charm-like feel.

Febril Bracelet by Carla Amorim

So what are other smart choices you can make? Ones that will not only hold up to the future but also per­mit you to look back and say, “I spent a lot on that, and it was worth it.”

Tra­di­tional items like pearls, dia­mond studs, and ban­gle bracelets are all good. Look for the best qual­ity you can afford and if they incor­po­rate a con­tem­po­rary slant, all the bet­ter. Dia­mond studs are usu­ally brilliant-cut stones. Try a dif­fer­ent shape, per­haps an oval– or emerald-cut. It’s dif­fi­cult to make a strand of pearls look like some­thing other than what it is, unless you are Justin Giunta of Sub­ver­sive who has recast them as sculp­ture. When it comes to pearls, adding more ele­ments to your per­sonal land­scape changes the vista, so feel free to throw on two longer gold or sil­ver chains and a great pair of close-fitting ear­rings. Play­ing with pro­por­tion and color rein­vents even the most “clas­sic” of looks and gives the eye some­thing new to see.

Fashion’s new­found appre­ci­a­tion for color gives us more options for spend­ing wisely. It’s not just about dia­monds any­more. Ear­rings can be bold and bright, like this cit­rine and lapis pair from Eliz­a­beth Show­ers. While the pen­dant style of these ear­rings isn’t unfa­mil­iar, the color com­bi­na­tion is painterly (remind­ing me a Van Gogh flo­ral land­scape) and has fresh feel.

Cit­rine and lapis ear­rings by Eliz­a­beth Showers

Antique amethyst riv­iere from Bet­teridge Jewelers

This neck­lace from Bet­teridge Jew­el­ers is regal but infi­nitely wear­able, a con­cept that is always fac­tored into the pur­chase equa­tion. While “expan­sive” and “sculp­tural” may be the bejew­eled catch-phrases in style right now, there is always a place for neck­laces that have a qui­eter but no less impor­tant pres­ence. An antique or estate piece of high-quality and amaz­ing con­di­tion is often an excel­lent acqui­si­tion in the long term.

***Please note: After Labor Day I will be post­ing twice a week, and be sure to check back dur­ing Fash­ion Week when I will be review­ing jew­elry trends on the run­way. Enjoy the long week­end everyone!