Jewellery then and now

[diamonds]

After watching a part of the 2pm jewellery show I went through my gem box ,jewellery purchased years back from qvc and realised the huge difference between the prices and designs of them then and now .Those days I could not afford a lot but I had a lot of pieces so beautiful in gold ,that today those same pieces would be sold for ten times the price. Even the gems in sterling silver is expensive:mysmilie_51:.Glad I did not sell those pieces ,quite a few times I thought I would .

 

[Anna]

I have a couple of precious time watches in sterling silver in amethyst and blue topaz. I have had these for years, and they are still as nice as when I bought them. I think I paid around £36.00, maybe slightly less. Dread to think what they would be nowadays.

 

[boffy]

me to lots of gold which is all of beautiful quality and weight some i have had for around 20 years. no stones falling out and still going strong. i even have a clogau ring in gold with a diamond. the quality again superb. sold most of my silver as i dont wear it a lot. wish i bought more

 

[candycane]

I think the gold on the rings I bought years ago must be worth quite a bit. You used to buy a garnet and gold ring for about £30 when Q first started and I've got quite a few pieces. I should get them all valued but hey ho. I never buy jewellery now as it has gone out of my price range. Even Diamonique is expensive for what it is.

CC

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I've bought more rings from QVC than I care to admit to. Largely silver and semi precious stones but that is my preference. My buying has really tailed off in the last couple of years. I think that's more about them no longer having the designs and choice rather than the prices. I'm very happy with the pieces I've bought and the prices I've paid.

I know not everyone like Lola Rose and its isn't really "proper" jewellery but today I put on a Marylebone bracelet with two Auburn bracelets from a few years ago. The bracelets have similar sized beads but the metal on the Auburn bracelets is hallmarked sterling silver. That surprised me a bit. No such luxuries with LR these days.

 

[Brissles]

Yes, I couldn't believe seeing £199 for a silver ring; and the design of the Morganite and diamond ring in 9ct rose gold is not new, I remember buying the same design with peridot and diamonds for less than half that price. I certainly couldn't (or wouldn't) afford the gold prices on Q now - glad I bought when I did.

 

[donna255]

Tell me about it!!!! I have some beautiful white gold bracelets from QVC the most expensive around £80(this was a TSV and heavy), gemstone rings in gold all under £40. Then some diamonique in 14ct white gold which around £30 if I remember correctly. White gold earrings hoops and drops which you would pay much more for silver now.

I look at some pretty earrings and they are over £150 for simple lightweight ones.

Oh I have a large morganite and diamond ring in white gold which was a TSV long ago, they had it in Aquamarine. I bought mine on ebay good as new for £40+ some years back.

 

[Peppermint Patti]

I think the gold on the rings I bought years ago must be worth quite a bit. You used to buy a garnet and gold ring for about £30 when Q first started and I've got quite a few pieces. I should get them all valued but hey ho. I never buy jewellery now as it has gone out of my price range. Even Diamonique is expensive for what it is.

CC

I have 14CT gold diaminique studs,cost about £24.00 and some really pretty lever backs also 14CT gold with 3 small stones for less than £30.00. Silver costs more than these nowadays.

 

[historymystery]

:mysmilie_14: Anyone remember when Gems used to do gold under £30 (even under £20, a few times!)? They used to have the occasional special hours, and also had the odd £1 auction here and there on gold and silver items - anyone remember those? I have several pieces I bought for £20 or £30 then - this was in 2008 and early 2009, my paperwork tells me. And the ring settings and bands were substantial gold, not flimsy amounts of 9K gold. I've even got a Paraiba tourmaline (small carat weight, only about 0.23ct) and diamond 18K white gold ring I bought for £79 in 2008!! It's a lovely ring and the diamonds - although small - just flash fire. I didn't buy much from QVC, I must admit, and one I did buy from them (a silver ring with rubies in it) had a ruby fall out not long afterwards.. Shame, because the silver weight and the colour of the rubies were good, I must admit.

I occasionally peek at jewellery shows now on QVC and I am gobsmacked at the prices they ask!! A couple of years ago I did fall for an expensive ring being shown, bought it - only to find when it arrived there was (a) no certificate of authenticity confirming anything about the cut, carat weight, etc. and (b) the item was incorrectly described on the invoice, with details missing and spelling errors! I rang Q customer services, and (after pressing them hard to get a response) they said "no, it doesn't come with any authenticity certificate", so I told them in that case I didn't believe their claims about the authenticity of the stones! Sent it back with a covering letter telling them what I thought of their "service" and "quality" and demanding my money back. To be fair to Q, I did get it back and the p&p too. I think a few people had done what I did.....so perhaps a damage limitation exercise??

I think the gold on the rings I bought years ago must be worth quite a bit. You used to buy a garnet and gold ring for about £30 when Q first started and I've got quite a few pieces. I should get them all valued but hey ho. I never buy jewellery now as it has gone out of my price range. Even Diamonique is expensive for what it is.

CC

 

[Wornoutcreditcard]

I miss the interesting gemstones like peridot, citrine blue topaz, garnet etc
Too much eek nowadays
It's a shame the bonkers suarti has been dropped her stuff was great quality and would hold its value, the only current equivalent is Taxco with the lovely designer lady.
The generic qvc jewellery is very samey and old fashioned. Some of the designers have better styles but not in precious metals(love rocks, Bronzo, aurora, frank usher)

 

[donna255]

Russian Diobside (sp), I have a lovely eternity 9ct gold bought for under £40, I keep being as if its emerald?

Now this one really shocked me. I bought a lovely Apatite small oval with two tiny diamonds on each side, now I think I pay more for it something like really £60 but I just loved it. Now here is the shock, the band is solid!!!! No cut outs as are the normal with QVC, only under where the stone sits is cut out for the light to get through. I have never ever seen a sold band, not even diamondique or silver from QVC.

 

[historymystery]

Donna, lucky you - you are right about the cutbacks on the amount of gold in the settings (or silver, for that matter). Most of the metal is really flimsy today, which is why I always check the gram weights before I buy (Gems TV display the gram weights of the metal at bottom of the screen for online auctions - although in very small print - and it's always shown in the Description area of the item on their website, so my advice would be always check before you buy). QVC seem a bit reticent at times about showing the weight of gold/silver you are buying in the item, so good for you getting a decent amount....

Russian Diobside (sp), I have a lovely eternity 9ct gold bought for under £40, I keep being as if its emerald?

Now this one really shocked me. I bought a lovely Apatite small oval with two tiny diamonds on each side, now I think I pay more for it something like really £60 but I just loved it. Now here is the shock, the band is solid!!!! No cut outs as are the normal with QVC, only under where the stone sits is cut out for the light to get through. I have never ever seen a sold band, not even diamondique or silver from QVC.

 

[thatu]

I used to love the Lola Rose jewellery and I think they should stick to the designs they used to have on QVC, necklaces with the stones cut into patterns like the Jennifer, which was only about £60 - now probably it would be nearing the £100 mark. Here's one I bought earlier. I don't like many of the styles these days, I don't wear earrings and only rarely bracelets. Surely they could have used the bits of gemstones left over to create inset patterns so nothing was wasted? And the prices have shot up.

 

[Anna]

I used to love the Lola Rose jewellery and I think they should stick to the designs they used to have on QVC, necklaces with the stones cut into patterns like the Jennifer, which was only about £60 - now probably it would be nearing the £100 mark. Here's one I bought earlier. I don't like many of the styles these days, I don't wear earrings and only rarely bracelets. Surely they could have used the bits of gemstones left over to create inset patterns so nothing was wasted? And the prices have shot up.

I agree with you thatu - I wish that QVC would sell more designs like the Jennifer - of which I have a few and really love - (I am presuming that Lola Rose are still making this design), these days the necklaces seem to be just small faceted stones or odd shaped stones. I do like the Lola Rose bracelets though, and have bought a fair few recently. I also don't like the 'gold' tag that is now on the jewellery - it is also quite difficult to remove, and I am always worried about the item being damaged when getting it taken off. I don't want it on the jewellery at all, especially the large tags which ruin the look of the item.