Is it OK to buy yourself jewellery?

Recently at the doctor’s waiting room one of the other waiting patients pointed at my simple thin gold band and asked: „Is this a wedding ring?“ – “No, this is just – erm – jewellery. An accessory, if you will.” Mind you, this guy was a weirdo. But my reply was in no way less weird, was it?

It got me thinking: Does jewellery (fine jewellery that is) have to have a deeper meaning, in the sense that it’s a gift from your partner/best friend/parents or a family heirloom?

Until recently – until that barely-there rose gold ring – I’ve never owned a piece of fine jewellery that I had bought myself. I own a couple of beautiful rings and a diamond necklace my parents once gave me as gifts. And I have some diamond ear studs and necklaces from ex-boyfriends – not always had they been my kind of style though, both jewellery and boyfriend.

All those pieces have a (hi)story. So if somebody asked: “Oh, where did you get this beautiful necklace from?” it’s OK to say “My father gave it to me when I graduated from university.” Because 1. it reminds you and tells everyone else how much you are loved 2. it gives you the chance to mention that you do have a university degree (which, strangely enough, is important to some people).

In reverse, does this mean – if you buy yourself a diamond ring for example – that you’re narcissistic? Is it shallow and decadent to buy yourself jewellery? Is it also because you don’t have anyone who would want to buy it for you? Are you sad and lonely?

I’ve had a chat about it with a friend, who is single for quite some time (which I don’t understand as she is gorgeous). I had admired her beautiful eternity ring when she told me, that she bought it for herself on a vacation and that ever since she had bought that ring she would buy herself a piece of fine jewellery on every vacation. “I love jewellery and why wait for someone to buy something for me?” she had said. Yes, why?

I’m still not sure if I’d get myself a diamond ring for example; an ex boyfriend once gave me one as a gift and when I wore it for the first time everyone had asked me if I were engaged.

Do you buy yourself fine jewellery?

Here are some pieces that are on the “To buy for myself” jewellery wish list.

(Left to right: Line & Jo leave ring, Selin Kent Hex ring, Sophie Bille Brahe earring, Apriati stack, Gabriela Artigas Infinite Tusk ring)