Thinking of a Master Plan...

Two and a half years have gone by since I last posted in this space.

It’s ridiculous, but that’s what happens when you bow under the pressure of capitalism.

I know ya’ll will probably tire of me mentioning capitalism, but that won’t negate the FACT that capitalism is the only true God to whom Americans bow.

Anyway!

I am here because we are approaching a new year. An election year. A year which I have been dreading since the very first year of the pandemic. Oh yeah, anyone who reads this should get used to me discussing the pandemic and the measures I take on a daily basis to avoid getting sick. Because despite all the content I see proclaiming we are “post-pandemic,” we are NOT. The pandemic is ongoing. Last week I had 7 staff out across all three of my teams because of “flu-like” symptoms, and everyone refuses to test.

Anyway, that wasn’t the point. The point is that I am an elder millennial, and so my very first—long—blog posts were on Xanga (do you remember Xanga??), where I documented my law school journey and every single party I attended (which was more than you would think, because I hated law school). I miss writing that way. The whole entire internet doesn’t need to know my business, but I do think it would be fun to write about my love for jewelry, how I ended up with an interesting, eclectic collection, and other assorted jewelry-related topics.

I’m not making any promises, but I do expect to update this space at least once a month. I’d be honored if you joined me. I wish you all the best in 2024, and [hopefully], I will see you soon!

Do you layaway?

I’m pretty sure we’re all vaguely familiar with layaway plans. Even if you’ve never had to use one for a purchase, surely you’ve heard those stories around the holidays every year where some generous stranger walks into Wal-Mart and pays off thousands of dollars on layaway plans as a gift? No? Just me?

Regardless, layaway plans are a way of financing a purchase that allows you to place an item on hold and pay the purchase price in agreed-upon increments until the item is paid for in full. Layaway plans tend to work the same way whether you’re purchasing from Wal-Mart or from an Instagram jewelry seller and this is how:

• Select the item you would like to purchase.

• Make a down payment on the item.

• Pay off the outstanding balance in installments.

• Get your stuff!

Layaways became popular during the Great Depression, and remained popular until credit cards became ubiquitous in the 1980s. Currently, layaways can come with a bit of stigma attached. Lots of people will say if you can’t comfortably afford to purchase an item in cash outright, then you can’t afford the item at all. I think everyone should mind their own business, quite frankly. I am of the opinion that it is neither my right, nor my concern, to police other people’s spending. Further, and most importantly, I refuse to believe that only people who are flush with cash deserve to have a little luxury in their lives. Capitalism has us fooled into thinking poor people don’t work hard enough to engage in American consumerism; only the rich should have nice things. And that’s a lie.

I am far from rich, but I can comfortably afford everything I need and nearly everything I want (emphasis on “nearly.” I would like a bungalow in the Keys but I’m not a millionaire, so there’s that). ANYWAY! That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a prudent choice to purchase a ring for $1900 just because I have the cash and spending it won’t kill me. What if I need to be saving my money for other things?  Which happens to be the case. I joked about my financial advisor putting me on punishment for the better part of last year, and wouldn’t you know, she actually did it. I’ve placed a few items on layaway this year, because doing so allows me to remain within the parameters of my budget. This way, I can still buy myself the pretty things I deserve, while I continue to work toward my financial goals for the future.

Which brings me to the benefits of layaway plans (especially when it comes to buying jewelry):

• Budget-Friendly—As stated above, layaway plans allow your purchases to fit into your budget, so you don’t overspend.

• No Interest—Refraining from credit card use means you won’t incur any interest charges on your purchase, which is always a good thing!

• One-of-a-Kind Purchases—When it comes to vintage jewelry, you won’t often find duplicates of a piece you truly love. Layaway allows you the opportunity to nab that special piece!

It’s only fair to discuss some of the disadvantages of layaway plans:

• Delayed Gratification—Based on your budget and the terms of your layaway plan, you may be in for a very long wait before you finally get your hands on your item. My longest layaway plan was 9 months for a $900 pink sapphire and amethyst ring. I didn’t intend to take that long to pay it off, and while it actually worked out better for me in the long run, it was quite torturous!

• Not Always Available—Some sellers do not offer layaway plans, as it doesn’t make sense for their business model.

• Potential for Loss—In the unfortunate event that you realize you are unable to complete the payments for your item, you may not be able to recoup the funds you previously deposited.

Now that we understand the pros and cons of layaway plans, here are some of my tips for how to buy the things you want on layaway:

• Decide what your budget is. Be realistic! If you know you have $600 of discretionary funds every month, do you really want to spend $500 paying down your layaway? Probably not.

• Assess whether the item you want to purchase can be divided into a sequence of payments that fits your monthly budget. Layaway terms vary by seller, but I’ve most frequently encountered the 3-month plan, where the purchase price is divided into three equal payments due 30 days apart. This is a good place to start your assessment.

• Carefully read ALL terms and conditions for purchasing items on layaway. On Instagram, sellers frequently make these terms available to read in their Story Highlights. You want to make sure you understand exactly how it works. Are your deposits refundable? Does the seller provide a refund, minus a restocking fee? If not, do you get a store credit, or do you lose your money altogether? (I’ve never defaulted on a layaway, but I’d personally be wary of entering one in which my entire deposit is completely non-refundable. Seems a bit draconian to me.) How long does the seller take to ship your item to you once you’ve made your final payment? How frequently must you make payments? Some sellers require a strict percentage of the purchase price upfront, and provide payment dates by which you must abide, or you risk forfeiting your hold on the item AND your funds. Others let you pay down as much as you want, whenever you want, as long as the item is paid off within a certain time frame. Do your research and decide whether the layaway terms offered work for you.

• Layaway purchases are usually final sale, so make sure that you really, really want the item before you commit to paying it off.

• If a seller doesn’t mention layaway, it doesn’t hurt to ask, especially if you have purchased from them in the past. The worst they can do is say no!

• One last thing: BE COURTEOUS. It can be a risk for small businesses to place items on hold, so be a kind and conscious consumer. Communicate with your seller. If you find yourself having issues making your payments, or something else comes up—just let them know.  You might be surprised at the ways people are willing to work with you.

 So that’s about it from me! I currently have one gorgeous, chunky sapphire and diamond ring on a long layaway—it’ll be mine just in time for my birthday, and I cannot WAIT!

How To Customize a Vintage Ring So it Suits Your Personal Style

Step One: Find a Vintage Ring

Be bored and start searching your favorite vintage shopping platform for nothing in particular on a Friday night. Find a 10-karat gold and cubic zirconia ring in an amazing, unique setting for an incredible price ($122.48 with tax and free shipping). Hesitate for a bit because it’s CZ and you don’t really wear CZ anymore since you started your fine jewelry collection. Remember that it’s only one hundred bucks and, thanks to your handy-dandy jewelry Instagram account, you now interact with a handful of jewelers who would probably be willing to take on the task of replacing the CZ with a stone of your choosing. (This all happens in 5 minutes, flat.)

Step Two: Consider Your Options

Post about your new purchase on the aforementioned jewelry Instagram account and ponder your options for a replacement stone. The bluish-violet tones of tanzanite are appealing, but tourmalines come in any shade you could possibly think of and are so fun—maybe a deep blue green tourmaline would work? There’s also the juicy lime green of peridot, a stone which you’ve only recently come to appreciate. But then someone mentions that a salt and pepper diamond could be absolutely chic, and that’s where your mind goes.  You won’t decide until you receive the ring and see how it feels on your finger. You will let it call out to you, let you know what it needs on its own.

Step Three: Select a Jeweler

This is the easiest part. You’ve been chatting with Lauren of Lauren Newton Jewelry off and on since you first re-posted a pair of her beautiful azurite malachite earrings back in February to celebrate Black jewelers during Black History Month. She’s always been really friendly to you and her work is both delicate and raw in a way that gets under your skin. And, quite frankly, with all this talk about supporting Black jewelers in the industry, you want to put your money where your mouth is and #payBlackwomen. Reach out to see if she’s available and do a little dance when she says she is.

Step Four: Make a Decision

Try on the ring when it arrives and realize that a salt and pepper diamond is the ONLY way to go. A brightly colored stone in this already dramatic setting, while beautiful, would be too much. With the ring firmly on your right ring finger, you envision it as part of your everyday ring stack, which includes a 14-karat gold love knot pinky ring and a black and white diamond eternity band on your left hand. You want to add more white diamonds to your left hand (specifically, a 4-stone white diamond Koemi ring from M. Hisae Jewelry, and a 9 Granule diamond ring from A.M. Thorne). A salt and pepper diamond on your right hand would provide some balance. You know in your heart that this ring needs the subtle glimmer and depth of a salt and pepper diamond.

Step Five: Send Ring to Your Jeweler

How fancy! To have a jeweler of one’s own! She inspects the ring and realizes that the prongs will need reinforcement—due in part to the fact that the cubic zirconia was not a standard trillion cut stone, and instead had the corners lopped off to fit within the setting. She thinks she can make it work with a standard trillion and you cross your fingers because the other option would be to have a stone custom cut, which sounds awfully expensive.

Step Six: Select a Replacement Stone

Your jeweler says she will show you 3-5 stones at a time for you to pick from, and if you don’t like anything in a batch, she will keep shopping around until you do. Luckily for you both, one stone in the very first batch immediately captures your heart. It is just as moody as you had imagined. You send the photo to your sister and your new jewelry friend and they both select the same stone without any hints from you whatsoever.

Step Seven: Be Patient

Wait. Not long. Also, lightly harass your jeweler to send you a photo of the empty ring setting so you can post it to your jewelry Instagram. It’s content, right? Plus after your initial poll, people seem really interested in what you’ll choose. Your jeweler kindly obliges your request, because she’s the best.

Step Eight: Try on Your Newly Updated Ring!

Try to wait to open the package when it arrives (there’s still that %$#@  SARS-CoV-2 going around, after all),  but the most you can manage is three hours. Rip it open and slide your gorgeous new 10-karat gold, salt and pepper diamond ring onto your finger and realize you were so, so right.

I was featured on Gem Gossip!

What is it about jewelry that makes it your passion?

I am fascinated by the way jewelry can tell our stories before we even open our mouths. For me, jewelry provides cultural context. For example: my maternal grandmother, who was born on the Caribbean island of Grenada and later moved to Trinidad and Tobago, had a large collection of jewelry, including her treasured 18 karat gold “slave bands.” They were a set of open bangles engraved with flowering vines and embellished with clusters of grapes on the ends. When I see women wearing bangles like my grandmother’s, it is a comfort to me. I know immediately where they are from.

I am a quiet introvert, who typically doesn’t like talking about myself at great length, so I let my jewelry do the talking for me. I have nine piercings in my left ear and four in my right (and I’m not done with my right ear yet). I work in a very conservative environment, but I proudly wear my hair up and go to work with thirteen bits of gold and diamonds glistening in my ears because it’s my own little form of rebellion. I wear bright colors and patterns, and rings on every finger because I’m hoping the choices I make about how I adorn myself will communicate that I am a person with deep feelings and strongly-held opinions, a creative person who cherishes beauty, a person willing to bend or even break the rules if necessary. Jewelry is just one of the easiest ways to share these things about myself without yelling it out from the rooftops.

to read the rest, click here.

I purchased this domain ten months ago, eager to start firing off posts: about the jewelry my family had gifted me when I was a child; the jewelry I collected throughout my travels; the jewelry I inherited upon my grandmother’s death; my struggle to wear that jewelry, more than a decade after she died, etc. I came up with a publishing schedule, a list of topics, ideas for features. I was so excited. And, faced with a blank page, I quickly lost steam.

“Does the world need yet another blog?” I asked myself.

“Probably not,” was my response.

So here I am, nearly a year later, writing this introductory post, knowing that this blog isn’t about gold or jewelry at all, but about me, wanting to be seen. About me, wanting to add my voice where I previously thought it did not belong.

I am not a jewelry expert, and I have no education in jewelry or fashion other than my own fervent desire to surround myself with pretty things. I know that I wear jewelry, again, to be seen, to draw attention to myself without preening, to catch the eyes of people like me, those who adorn themselves to telegraph who they are without shouting: “HEY. HERE I AM.” I wear jewelry to remind myself that I am admired, treasured, valued, adored.

I am done hiding myself. Because I am gold. And gold is never plain.