I’d Rather Buy the Jewelry

BY ROSARIO FRANCO

There was a time when the handbag felt like the obvious purchase. You saved for the one you wanted, wore it constantly, and, in some cases, part of the appeal was knowing exactly what it was when you saw someone else carrying it.

I still love bags. I’m just not sure I want to spend quite as much money on them anymore.

We see so many of the same ones now. We see them online, on resale sites, on Instagram, and increasingly, we see very convincing versions of them everywhere else. By the time I’ve seen the same bag hundreds of times, something about wanting it starts to disappear for me.

And with prices continuing to climb, I’ve started asking myself a very practical question: if I’m going to spend that much money, what am I actually buying?

That question keeps bringing me back to jewelry.

With fine jewelry, there’s something reassuringly tangible about the value of the object itself. You’re buying gold, diamonds, gemstones, craftsmanship, and something that, if properly cared for, can exist long after you.

That doesn’t mean every piece of jewelry is an investment or that you’ll be able to resell it for what you paid. Often you won’t. But there is a permanence to the materials that I find increasingly attractive.

Gold is still gold when the trend changes.

“A well-made piece of jewelry can be worn thousands of times. It can be repaired, altered, passed down, reset, or eventually become part of something completely different. It doesn’t have corners that get rubbed, handles that crack, or a shape that suddenly feels dated in quite the same way.”

A well-made piece of jewelry can be worn thousands of times. It can be repaired, altered, passed down, reset, or eventually become part of something completely different. It doesn’t have corners that get rubbed, handles that crack, or a shape that suddenly feels dated in quite the same way.

That longevity has started to matter much more to me when I’m deciding where I want to spend.

Especially because I’ve realized I don’t actually need my bag to do all that much.

I want it to be beautifully designed, functional, well made, and easy to carry. It doesn't necessarily need to be the most expensive part of what I'm wearing. In fact, lately I find myself much more drawn to a low-key bag with great proportions and very little branding, then putting the money I would have spent on the obvious designer bag toward jewelry I’ll wear constantly.

Part of that is practical. Part of it is also aesthetic.

Jewelry can become part of the way you look in a way very few accessories can. You can wear the same ring every day for twenty years. You can sleep in a necklace, stack a bracelet with something your mother gave you, or wear a pair of earrings so often that eventually people associate them with you.

A handbag comes on and off. Jewelry has a way of staying.

And the more I learn about it, the more interesting the category becomes.

You start developing a vocabulary for what you like. Maybe you’re drawn to heavy gold, unusual stones, enamel, or pieces with movement. Maybe you care about symmetry, or realize you prefer things that feel slightly imperfect. Details that once seemed insignificant become the reason you love one piece over another.

Two pieces can use similar materials and still feel completely different. The personality is often in the design, the proportions, and the way those materials have been handled.

Unlike so much of fashion, age can actually make jewelry more desirable.

I think that’s part of why jewelry feels particularly relevant right now. We’re surrounded by so much visual information that it has become incredibly easy for everyone to know the same brands, save the same references, and want the same things.

Jewelry offers a little room to go in the opposite direction. You can wear something nobody recognizes and still have it be extraordinary. Actually, sometimes that’s the point.

This doesn’t mean recognizable jewelry is somehow less interesting. Classics become classics for a reason, and there are iconic designs I own and will probably love forever.

Knowing why something is beautifully made, why the proportions work, where the design came from, or why it makes sense on the person wearing it tends to lead you somewhere much more personal.

Maybe that’s what I find most interesting about jewelry. You can spend years learning about it and somehow end up wanting fewer things, not more.


By Rosario Franco