It is my job to advertise jewelry, when you buy my jewelry it is the jewelries task to advertise you. This is a guide for those of us who love to buy jewelry. We are very fortunate these days to be able to buy gorgeous jewelry of good quality that does not break the budget and is not so expensive that we are afraid of wearing and enjoying it. So let's make this jewelry work for you.



First - go through the jewelry that you already have. (Chances are that it is in a box in one tangled mess.) Lay each piece out on a soft cloth and inspect them. If they have silver or gold coatings over a base metal (i.e. not over a precious metal like 925 sterling silver) they will not keep their luster for very long. These are fine for a few special occasions but then they need to leave your jewelry box. Good only for youngsters to play dress-ups with. What you keep may need cleaning according to its metal or gem content.

Earrings - Are your most important jewelry item. They give that extra compliment to your complexion that no other piece of jewelry can give. The right earrings can make the difference between dreary and sensational.

In front of a mirror put on one earring. Look at your self from the side without an earring and then turn to the earring side. If the earring does not give your face that extra sparkle and light, put it out of your box into the kids dress-up box or have a lucky dip at your next party. They may look nice in the box but if they don't do that 'extra something' for you, you don't need them. Repeat this procedure with all of your earrings.

Your earrings need to work for you and earn their keep. You do not want people to look at you and say 'beautiful earrings'. The earrings are to compliment you. We want someone to look at you and say 'you look fantastic' then they notice your complimentary jewelry, not the other way around.

Now put your jewelry into groups. This will depend on your life style and employment type. Roughly it will be casual, work and evening wear. I find the best way to store jewelry for easy access and to prevent them from scratching each other is in small clear plastic zip lock bags. When buying jewelry keep these groups in mind and buy specifically for your needs.

If you have done the above mirror test and have been honest with yourself you should now have a very good idea about what factors give your face that 'extra' sparkle. This will now make it easy to buy your earrings and other fine and fashion jewelry online where the price/quality ratio should be much better than you can buy elsewhere. I keep buying jewelry for myself and family. It is great for gifts. Jewelry is the feel good gift for any occasion.