Whether you’re shopping for yourself or someone else jewelry can be one of the most expensive items you can budget out. If you aren’t careful you might find that you need to take out a small loan just to buy some of the pieces you have your eye on. Jewelry doesn’t have to be an expensive outing though. In fact you can easily find ways to update your jewelry box without having to deal with expensive fees that leave you feeling instant buyer’s remorse. After all, jewelry is something you should love to have rather than something you’re afraid to wear out. With a few simple tips you may find your knowledge of jewelry as well as your budget for it will greatly improve so you can have your bling without dealing with cut backs in the household.
1. Second Hand
Some of the best jewelry available to you is pieces that have been owned before and are a bit older than the average piece you’d find in a jewelry store. If you look in the right location you might even find that you’re getting a steal of deal that you would have never come across in a typical store. Shopping in second hand stores can become more of a hobby that a shopping experience. After awhile you might develop a niche for picking up items that should be priced a lot higher than what they are at these stores. Usually shopping at thrift stores, pawn shops and yard sales are the best places to find these little treasures. You might also frequent auctions or look at online auctions, but practice restraint when bidding on items because you don’t want to spend a lot of money when you’re trying to save. Even if you aren’t looking to save big on an expensive item you might find something that suits your style and makes you feel incredible about yourself.
2. Repair Old Jewelery
For some people a busted watch or dirty pair of earrings means tossing out an item they once loved. This is probably one of the worst things you can do when you’re trying to save money. These items can undergo repair jobs which will render them beautiful once again. Typically fixing an older watch doesn’t take a whole lot of time or money if you know you’re doing. There are numerous online tutorials that can walk you through each step with ease, so you can get that watch working perfectly again. Cleaning jewelry is also a breeze and can be done in the home with special solutions that aren’t entirely expensive. Of course, if you’re just feeling bored with a piece you can always take it in for some alterations that will bring a new life to it so you’ll feel confident about wearing it again. One of the most common reasons for a person not to wear a piece of jewelry anymore is it fails to fit. Getting a ring re-sized or adjusting a wrist band can be simple fixes at a jewelry store that won’t cost you a whole lot.
3. Know What You Want
It is always important to educate yourself a little bit before you go into a jewelry store. Knowing how to spot various cuts of diamonds or how to tell if a stone is real is very important, especially if you aren’t going to a major dealer. If you’re interested in collecting a certain brand of jewelry then you should investigate the logo and common attributes tied to the brand so you’ll know you’re getting what you want. You can find a lot of information on the top of jewelry you’re looking for online so make sure to do your homework before you head out to a store. You should also do a little pre-shopping online before committing to a place to shop. This will ensure that you have a pretty solid idea of what you want. Knowing what you want is incredibly important because you might end up with a pushy salesmen that wants you to upgrade your original purchase idea. This is pretty common practice for any store that works on commission, but you don’t have to fall victim to it. If you’ve already sold yourself an item in your mind then saying no won’t be a lot of trouble, especially when the salesmen presents you with lots of beautiful jewelry that could be yours.
4. Take Care of What You Have
Sometimes we have a bit too much jewelry and loose track of the amount of time we spend maintaining it. Although it is often important to us and can often hold a mental tie to people we love it can slowly begin to deteriorate if we aren’t careful. This is why it is incredibly important to take care of the jewelry you already own. You can easily clean your metals and stones at home without having to spend too much time on the pieces. You can also hang up necklaces to avoid kinks in the chain and find a special holding space for rings and earrings. The more care you put into an item the longer it will look good for you. By maintaining the pieces you already have you might find that you want for other pieces less which will cut down on the shopping bill. If you have jewelry that looks great all of the time then you won’t have to worry about impulse buying to fill a void in your wardrobe.
5. Make Your Own
A lot of hobbyist all over the world have taken to making their own fine jewelry. This hobby can range from the amateur who loves to bead on the weekends to the artist who melts their own metals to create lovely bands that will catch your eye. The ideas are endless and so are the materials so feel free to look around the house and find things you might like to see on a piece of jewelry. One example is to raid your button drawer and find some that might make a cute pair of earrings. Or, you could pull out the old magazine and make paper mache beads that will leave everyone curious about your new look. Old t-shirts and items like toothbrushes and bottle caps can make awesome bracelets for kids. There are a ton of tutorials online to help you on your way, or you could simply just see where your creativity takes you.
6. Downgrade
A lot of people who go shopping for jewelry tend to look at the most expensive items because they think they won’t surpass the beauty of these items on the market. The fact of the matter is, if you want to save as much money as possible you can easily purchase a downgrade and most people won’t notice the difference. For instance, if you want to by a ruby ring then you don’t have to actually find one that is the actual stone. Many people have learned to make imitation stones that look almost identical to the real thing. You might also look into a lower grade of metal as this will significantly reduce the price of your jewelry. If you aren’t really interested in the flashy jewelry then finding something smaller might suit your taste a bit more. For instance, you can easily by a tiny diamond on your ring which will still look elegant, but won’t hurt the bank account quite as much.
7. Avoid the Chains
We’re all guilty of making our first stop at a chain jewelry store. This can be a major problem if you’re not careful, especially for first time buyers. A lot of chains will claim to offer you the best deal and since there are so many of the store we often tend to trust their judgment and assume they won’t rip us off. Although it is rare you will have an issue with the company it is always best to do your shopping elsewhere at first. A lot of independent jewelry stores are a great starting place because they can offer you competitive price on items that the chain also carries. Of course, a lot of these independent stores will also sell a number of items that are older and less trendy, which might strike your fancy more than the rings found at the major chains. If you can’t find a price you like at an independent store then try looking online next. The more shopping around you do the bigger savings you’ll end up with. You might even check to see if the chain stores have a deal online that might save you more money than the local branch does. So, try to avoid chains if you can, but if you have to shop there make sure to do a little shopping around first.
8. Watch the Metal Market
You might not be as familiar with the metal market as you are the stock market but it does exist. The metal market will actually inform you as to how much money metal is currently worth. When the metal you love is low then you might want to check in with your favorite jewelry store to see if the prices have dropped on something you’ve had your eye on for awhile. Most jewelry stores have to fluctuate their prices based on how metals are doing in the market, so if you’ve noticed a down point in the market then your time to move is now. Shopping like this can be a bit of a skill as it means you will have to predict if the metal is going to go further down or come back up. For instance, if you’re waiting on a gold ring and gold has been down in the market for a week then you have to judge whether or not you want to act now or wait another few days. Chances are the gold is going to change value back up eventually, so the risk is in your hands only. This can make shopping for metallic jewelry a lot more fun and challenging and could end up saving you a whole lot of money.
9. Reconsider Trends
Every year the market place comes out with new trends that everyone must have. These items are usually released around major holidays which means they get a lot of sales. One thing you can do Is ignore current trends to keep your budget a bit tighter. Usually having a few signature pieces is enough to get you through most occasions. Of course, if you do love staying trendy you can still purchase some of the same designs for a fraction of the cost. Usually, for $20 you can find a similar piece at a department store or online that will make you feel in fashion without putting you $1k into debt!
10. Sales!
When shopping for anything sales is the way to go all of the time. Before you buy anything make sure you ask about sale opportunity or look around at other locations to help you find a lower sales price. Usually looking online is your best bet for finding coupons and sales, but you can also rely on the holidays to bring you big name sales that will save you an abundance of money. If you can try to refrain from buying if it isn’t on sale. You’ll find with a little bit of patience you can save quite a bit of money and still get the item that been tugging at your heart for ages.
Everyone loves a nice piece of jewelry to make their style shine, but not too many people want to shell out the money for some of today’s high prices. With these tips you’ll find a lovely piece of jewelery that will make you feel great about your look while keeping you bank account a lot healthier which will please everyone!
