Basics of Jewelry Strategy

On principle, I do not believe in a list of items that make one’s personal jewelry collection complete. Jewelry is a decorative art, and therefore should be judged by the eye of the wearer. I do, however, have a few suggestions:

1. Wear what makes you happy.

2. Invest in special pieces. Invest in traditional not trendy pieces. It is lovely to have jewels that only come out on special occasions.

3. Do not be afraid to wear color, gemstones are nature’s creation and come in a rainbow of fabulous, surprising and flattering colors. Color jewelry can be trendy; and is a great way to incorporate the color that everyone is wearing this season into your wardrobe. You canread my brief on “red” and check The Jewelry Brief for other color briefs coming soon.

4. Do differentiate between day and evening jewelry, especially regarding lady’s watches. When dressing for your evening out, remember less is usually more.

The Brooch

The brooch is one of the most interesting and often most versatile pieces of jewelry. It has fallen out of favor in recent years due to a more overall casual style of dressing, but it should not be over looked. Shown here, Charlize Theron takes the brooch “out of the box” by wearing a pair of Art Deco diamond clips as an unexpected accent on an otherwise unadorned evening dress. In the same fashion, sun dresses, tops and t-shirts can be accented with a brooch or delicate pin placed in an unexpected spot.

There are still a large number of women who wear suits and dresses to work each day and there is no better way to add style and self expression than a brooch to a collar, lapel or shoulder. Brooches are versatile because neckline or sleeve length of each outfit need not be taken into consideration, which is not the case with bracelets or necklaces. Madeleine Albright, Former US Secretary of State and Founder, The Albright Group LLC, is a jewelry collector. She said that she used pins as a diplomatic tool-reinforcing the message of the day, choosing among pieces that depict an eagle, dove, balloon or bumble bee to name a few.