which shall I indulge in?
 

I work for Marks & Morgan Jewelers and I am trying to figure out what to ask for for Christmas or to buy for myself (I get an awesome discount). I need opinions!!! BTW I'm getting my mom a sapphire and diamond bracelet (saph. is her birthstone) and something else to match. Here are some things I'm considering asking for:

~A really cute 14k gold watch with a black background & six tiny diamonds around it (it matches my ZTA badge really well!)

~Gold charms for my college charm bracelet (I have a silver one from high school with all those activities on it) such as a five-point crown, strawberry, bunny, breast cancer ribbon, MT logo (my school), etc.

~round-cut diamond stud earrings (not sure which size yet, I have to check the price I can get them for- I might even be able to get Leo diamonds at a decent price!)

~any other ideas??? Marks & Morgan is under the same company as Kay's, Jared's, etc (Sterling Inc) in case you aren't familiar with MM.

Hey my Sister:D

I think you should go with whatever you can get more use out of, such as the earrings. Is the charm bracelet for purely sentimental value? If it is then maybe you can hold off and shop around for better prices.

Happy shopping!:cool:

Diamond stud earrings are always a great idea; I wear mine almost constantly! But, I am thinking the watch is your best bet since you said it matches your badge so well.

You can get diamond studs anytime, but you might not see the watch again.

When I first clicked on this thread, "which shall I indulge in?", I thought it was going to be about your Halloween candy...LOL

I say pick the earrings. Diamonds are a girl's best friend. :D :D

OOOOOOOOOOOOOh LUCKY YOU! I too would go with the earrings unless you're in need of a pretty drop. Nothing like a diamond drop on a cashmere sweater or a drop that hits at the "perfect" spot. Hey, can I be your surrogate Mom this Christmas? ;)

If you already have a pair of diamond earrings, go with the watch. If you do not own a pair of diamond earrings, this Chritmas is the time! :)

Diamond studs, hands down! They're a classic that will never, ever, go out of style! :)

Okay, I'm going to go against the tide here and vote for the charm bracelet. Here's why: my mother, who is not very sentimental, had a gorgeous charm bracelet that she carefully put together during her adolesence in the late '50s early '60s. I treasure looking at it each time I go home. Each charm means something different to her, some she bought and others were gifts. I think charm bracelets are a really lovely American tradition. Also, say you have more than one daughter or grandaughters, with a charm bracelet you can give each girl one or more charms to pass down or wear on their own bracelets.
Now, don't get me wrong, my diamond earrings are a staple in my wardrobe, so if you go with those they'll definitely get a lot of use. Just my thoughts.
violets

Decisions, decisions...

~I already have the charm bracelet (got it for christmas a few yrs ago), just not the *charms* to go on it, and the special order books in our store have unintentionally Zeta-related charms such as the five-point crown, and even my school logo. The charms are about $50 each (retail), and I probably need to get around 10 of them.

~The watch really is pretty & unique, but it might be too fancy to wear, say, when I'm in khakis. It's a Seiko brand watch, and it retails $439, but I can probably get it for half of that. Actually, there's a picture of the watch here http://www.kay.com/images/products/t...n340082104.jpg

~The diamond earrings are DEFINITELY appealing to me, since I'm probably far from getting an engagement ring any time soon (don't even have a serious boyfriend right now lol), and it's just not right for a girl to by herself a diamond ring, but earrings are great. My only prob with those are... what carat weight should I get??? Of course I would LOVE to have 1ct on each ear, but those run (at cheapest) like $2000. The 1/2 cts I think will be affordable, since they are on sale right now for $599 and employees only have to pay about 2/3rds of the retail price for diamonds. http://www.kay.com/images/products/t...n200167106.jpg

You're right about wondering about the size, but for an additional reason. I don't wear anything "fake" unless it's out and out obvious (like SOME Mardi Gras costume jewelry). I have found that some people who see the larger sized diamonds on a woman
ASSUME they are fake because some are pretty good. As petty as it is, I hate it when some tacky person asks if one of my pieces is real or goes just short of pulling out a magnifying glass.

BTW-I bought my first pair of diamond earrings too and it was a very satisfying feeling! I should have gotten a bigger stone, but I didn't have the foresite. Good luck with your choice

Violets- I too have a charm bracelet from my youth and have been negligent about adding charms for my daughter, but there have been SOME additions. She is fond of it too.

I work in a jewelry store too! (Friedman's... if you know the history of Marks and Morgan's, we are actually bitter enemies through a split of the Friedman family... haha PM me if you don't know and you are interested)

I would definitely go with the diamond studs. To me, charms on a charm bracelet are more special if you get them one at a time. You could add one on for any special occasion (maybe even with your Christmas check ;)). The watch is nice, and unique. But I do think that it's a little dressy to wear for every day.

I wear my half-carat diamond studs every day, mostly in my first hole, but sometimes in my second hole when I am wearing a different pair of earrings. Half-carat is a good size, not too expensive but still impressive if you get good quality (like the Leo diamonds).

I just bought myself a strand of pearls (which, with my discount, were unbelievably cheap) and I love those too. Classic, timeless pieces will last a lifetime.

Alright, I'm convinced to get the diamonds! :D
But for the same price I can get either:

non-certified 1/2 carat earrings

OR

double certified Leo 1/3 carat earrings

The Leos will sparkle a lot more & I can always trade them up for larger diamonds when I get more $. Should I get the Leos?

By the way, Carolina, yes I do know that we are big competitors, but actually in the mall I trained in, we were actually pretty buddy-buddy with the Friedman's people. I haven't met any of the Friedman's people in this mall, though. Congrats on the nice pearls! I like the "black pearls" that are actually more of a grayish-blue color, but I don't think pearls look right on me.

Get the Leos. I'd rather have slightly smaller diamonds of better quality. The extra sparkle will make up for the size. And it's great that you can trade them up.

I like the watch, too. I'm a big watch fan. I'd wear that one with khakis. A dressier watch can dress up a more casual outfit, I think.

And darling, EVERYONE looks good in pearls! It's a matter of finding a strand with undertones that flatter your particular skin tone. And won't you have fun trying on strands in a quest to find the perfect one?!