The sixth and last of our guiding concepts for any jewelry wardrobe is:
Concept #6:
Any jewelry you wear every day should be something you love wearing. Your everyday pieces should be in good condition, should work with the rest of your wardrobe, and should reflect a style you’d like to repeat in your other pieces. If your everyday jewelry is starting to show signs of wear, have it fixed, upgraded, or replaced.

Caroline: Hey, how does your every day jewelry look? Mine always needs a good cleaning, but other than that, it’s in solid shape.
Cynthia: Same here. The one thing I wear consistently is my two-toned watch. Other than that I swap between white metal and yellow gold, so each half of my jewelry wardrobe gets seen about half the time. But that doesn’t mean they get half as dirty!
Caroline: Ha, that figures! One thing that always struck me as a retailer was that you could usually tell what pieces people wore each day, because, well, they looked like they were worn each and every day!
Cynthia: I have a favorite ring that used to belong to my mother. I have worn it and worn it until the band was misshapen.
Caroline: And how is it today?
Cynthia: I had the band fixed by my local jeweler, so it’s good as new.
Caroline: Excellent! That’s what I like to hear.
Cynthia: I always wonder when I walk into a jewelry store if I’m going to get that tsk, tsk… your jewelry hasn’t been cleaned in a while!So of course I say, “I guess I’ll need to come in and see you more often!”
Caroline: And do you appreciate that or does it make you uncomfortable?
Cynthia: I’ve never actually been scolded — I’m sure I’m harder on myself than my jeweler would be. And I know I can count on a free cleaning of my jewelry while I’m there. That’s a great perk of visiting one’s jeweler! Caroline: Good point. It’s important that jewelers/retailers pay special attention to the “daily” jewelry that we all wear. From a consumer’s viewpoint, it’s easy for a piece to get worn as when you wear something every day you don’t really notice as it declines.It’s also probably easier to sell an upgrade to the piece (to fix it, not replace it), as it IS something that is worn every day, therefore likely a bit more valuable, at least in sentimental terms. The hardest part is to get the consumer to leave it with you to be fixed as they don’t usually want to be without it!
Cynthia: So true! I’ve had a safety added to a bracelet I was afraid of losing, because it had such a lot of sentimental value for me.
Caroline: Smart move. We all have those pieces and hopefully they can be fixed for many years to come. For some people, they become the “special occasion” piece, when they reach a certain stage. When they get very worn or for some reason cannot be easily fixed, then it can be time for retirement.
Cynthia: Now, if only there’s some way to find an exact replacement for that lost earring!

Today’s Jewel
Pay special attention to your customer’s “regular” jewelry. It should look the best of all their jewels and be in excellent condition since it IS worn every day. And if it’s not – ask them if it’s really the piece they want to wear every day and be a big part of their wardrobe. If it’s not? Time for a new piece for your customer, a sale for you.

JCK