By Karen and Erica

V

ery likely, you have been the recipient of jewelry gifts from men who love you. That’s often the way it’s done. But did you know—you can buy your own jewelry?

Somehow, this obvious point was revelatory for us.

We—women of our age—have seldom bought fine jewelry. Apparently, few in our cohort do—people over 55 make up only 4% of buyers—and we’re pretty sure they are not all women. We suppose that is because many of us were brought up to think that the iconic jewelry transfer is the presentation of a diamond ring, by a young man to a young woman, on the occasion of a proposal. A corollary principle derived from that first big gift—diamonds are for the adornment of young women.

Times have changed. Now, women make up 56% of buyers of jewelry generally—and they buy diamonds for themselves.

None of this happened in the blink of a solitaire. It took until the ’60s for women to be able to have their own bank accounts, and until 1974 to no longer require a father’s or husband’s permission to open a credit card. In 2019, NBC News reported that 20% of all home purchases were by single women. This year, the New York Times noted that single women outstrip their male counterparts in owning homes.

That hard-won independence has shifted how women think about their most significant — and most personal — fashion pieces. Fine jewelry is no longer a visual representation of love. It is now a trophy one bestows upon oneself for a job well done.

We, who have worked for decades and become women of substance, appreciate fine design. Fine food. Fine clothes. Fine art. Fine jewelry is right in that mix. And we are hardly limited to diamonds. There are a lot of amazing creations that will inspire you, even if you need to find a more economical interpretation. (Lab grown diamonds?)

As a preliminary matter, we reject what seems to be some sense that there is a type of jewelry suitable for older women—sometimes actually labelled older ladies jewelry (what was Etsy thinking?), sometimes with a weird subtext—vintage jewelry for vintage women so they can look as good as younger women. Obviously, older women can wear whatever they want to wear, but they also have the gravitas to wear the most audacious pieces if that is what they choose. The only rule we would accept—for everyone—is to avoid the cursed pieces, no matter how great they might look.

When seeking inspiration, we especially like designs from Verdura and Belperron, two houses now under the same organization, and Hemmerle and van Cleef.

• Verdura was created in the last century by Fulco di Verdura, who came to prominence by designing for some of the most beautiful and famous women of his day—including Coco Chanel. Some of Verdura’s most famous pieces are cuffs created with gold and enamwel and precious stones, like the sunburst cuff. Glamour made real.

• Suzanne Belperron was one of the most famous designers of the twentieth century, creating pieces like the vintage Wing Brooch, for movie stars. Hyper elegant.

• Hemmerle is a now fourth generation family enterprise whose designers use non-traditional materials with traditional jewels, creating extraordinary and unique shapes, often in briliant colors. Check out these tourmaline and aluminium earrings. The essence of summer.

• We have written before about the amazing experience of watching high jewelry creation in the workshop of Van Cleef and Arpels in Paris. We saw some amazing zippers—which can be worn two ways and therefore we might consider a good deal.

We also saw some stellar pieces on the high jewely floor in the very recently reopened Tiffany’s.

• First, do go visit the store. It is a work of art. Lots to see everywhere—including home furnishings—and lots of very knowledgeable sales people, dressed in Givenchy, to provide information about evertything, including the building. Why Givenchy? Because that’s who designed Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress in Breakfast.

• Second, go find Jean Schlumberger’s historic pieces—like a Bird on a Stone brooch. The intricacy of these works is remarkable.

And don’t forget the auction houses. Lustre recently had a fabulous outing to Sothebys, where we saw art and other amazing works that the public has never seen before and likely will never see again. Sothebys auctions jewelry as well, as do Phillips, Christie’s and many others. Think of them as museums with constantly changing masterworks that pop up for a while, and then go into seclusion again.

FInally, a pro tip—if you want to see some amazing, cool, contemporary designers, who may or may not fit into the high jewelry category but require a much smaller financial commitment, have a look at Aaron Faber. We love Edward Faber’s offerings. And we love hearing about the young artisans who are making the pieces.

Most of us can’t acquire fabulous pieces all the time—but we can surely be inspired. And if we have something to celebrate, we can buy jewelry for ourselves. Onward.