Buying Jewelry for Holiday Gifts
Buying jewelry for holiday gifts can be hit or miss unless you buy from a reliable source
Nov 19, 2006
Articles published recently in jewelry trade journals indicate that more and more woman are treating themselves to pieces of finely crafted artisan jewelry. Remember the right hand diamond campaign that stated 'woman of the world raise your right hand'? Well, that campaign was not a wide success but it was indicative of this trend in jewelry buying.
This year if you plan on gifting yourself or a friend with artisan quality jewelry start with these two recommended online vendors. This article will not discuss eBay. Guidelines for purchasing jewelry on eBay are discussed in another article.
The Guild -the Guild has a rigorous juried selection process through which an artist must pass prior to be accepted as a Guild artist. This guarantees that you are purchasing finely crafted jewelry.
On this site you can view gorgeous pieces for around $50 all the way up to thousands of dollars. Each artist has a brief biography on the site detailing his or her inspiration and methods of fabricating the jewelry.
The artist will post studio time in getting the piece out the door. Usually this runs about 2 weeks with additional time to be allowed for your selected manner of shipping.
The Guild has a great return policy. Normally, returns are accepted within 14 days with some allowances being made beyond that time frame for gifts. Any jewelry that is labeled 'made upon order' or orders shipped to destinations other than the USA or Canada are not returnable.
Sundance - also recommended is this online vendor that is associated with the actor, Robert Redford.
Sundance provides a complete bio on each artist that is quite interesting to read. And each piece of jewelry also includes information about its care and the raw materials and components used to fabricate the piece of jewelry.
The range of prices and styles of jewelry offered are comparable to the Guild. Sundance also has a catalog outlet store located in Salt Lake City, UT.
Sundance's return policy is very liberal for most items. Items ordered from Sundance usually arrive within 2 weeks of order without using expedited shipping.
If you are purchasing jewelry for holiday gifts these two sites come highly recommended. However, remember to place your order at least two weeks prior to when it is needed.
