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Tips on Choosing Jewellery

Here are a few hints and tips to help you when choosing jewellery for yourself, or a friend or loved one.
And if you want more help, just pick up the phone and call us on 0845 4509334 during normal business hours (9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday, 10.30 to 4.30 Sunday) for friendly advice and help. ( +44 1926 430934 outside the UK).

1. RING SIZES
UK rings are sized alphabetically. A woman with a very slim 'ring' finger might be H, I or J; a medium-sized finger would be K, L or M; and a larger finger would be N, O or P. If you are buying a dress ring, many women will wear that on their middle finger, which will usually be a good two sizes larger than their ring finger.

Men's rings are sized in the same way, but typically start further down the alphabet, with a slim finger being an S or T; a medium size being U or V; and a large size being W to Z. If a man has particularly large fingers, or wants to wear a ring on his thumb, sizes Z +1, +2, +3 are also available, but as these are 'non-standard' sizes, not all rings will be available in these sizes, so it is important to check first.

Many rings can be resized to fit, with a change of up to 3 sizes being possible, either larger or smaller. However, some dress rings or ornately-decorated rings will not be possible to resize, and some metals - such as titanium - cannot easily be resized, so it is important to get the size right if you can.

US and European Ring Sizes
Some of our designers work in US or European sizes, so we will match the nearest UK equivalent. These are less precise than UK sizes, so there is not an exact match for every UK size. e.g. SWATCH rings are sized in US sizes; Christian Lacroix, Kenzo and Morelatto are in European sizes; while designers such as Lola Rose and Monica Vinader simply go with 'small', 'medium' and 'large'.

US size conversions
5 = UK size J
6 = UK size L
7 = UK size N and 1/2
8 = UK size P and 1/2
9 = UK size R and 1/2

European size conversions
50 = UK size J and 1/2
52 = UK size L and 1/2
54 = UK size N
56 = UK size O and 1/2
58 =Uk size Q

2. BIRTHSTONES
If you want to buy a piece of jewellery with some meaning, choosing a piece which features someone's birthstone is a thoughtful thing to do. Each month has a stone associated with it:

January = Garnet (To see examples of garnet jewellery, click here)
February = Amethyst (To see examples of amethyst jewellery, click here)
March = Aquamarine (To see examples of aquamarine jewellery, click here)
April = Diamond (To see examples of diamond jewellery, click here)
May = Emerald
June = Pearl (To see examples of pearl jewellery, click here)
July = Ruby
August = Peridot (To see examples of peridot jewellery, click here)
September = Sapphire (To see examples of sapphire jewellery, click here)
October = Pink Tourmaline or Opal (To see examples of pink tourmaline jewellery, click here)
November = Citrine or Yellow Topaz (To see examples of citrine jewellery, click here)
December = Turquoise (To see examples of turquoise jewellery, click here)

3. ANNIVERSARIES
For a special anniversary, it is lovely to choose a piece of jewellery which represents that anniversary. This gives it special meaning and shows that you are aware of how many years it has been. Here are the special ones:

1st Anniversary = Paper
5th Anniversary = Wood
10th Anniversary = Tin or Aluminium
15th Anniversary = Crystal
25th Anniversary = Silver
30th Anniversary = Pearl
35th Anniversary = Coral or Jade
40th Anniversary = Ruby
45th Anniversary = Sapphire
50th Anniversary = Gold
55th Anniversary = Emerald
60th Anniversary = Diamond

4. COLOURS
Choosing jewellery for someone else can seem difficult at first. However, there are some general principles which can help. Colour is one of the key things to consider first.

If you are buying jewellery in a precious metal - is he or she a yellow gold or white gold person? Do they like white metals (white gold, platinum, silver, stainless steel), or do they prefer the warmth of yellow gold, copper or bronze? Look at other jewellery that they wear - a wedding or engagement ring, pendant or signet ring. Have they mentioned a preference? Look at their watch: people often choose their preferred colour of metal for their watch, as it is something they will wear every day. Do they own a 'dress watch' for special occasions? If so, this may be a different colour to their everyday watch, which suggest that this is their preferred colour for dressing up.

If you can't spot an obvious preference, look at their colouring - their hair colour and skintone. Blondes often suit yellow gold more, as its warm tones match their hair; and exotic or darker skintones also look good with yellow gold against them.

If you are choosing bolder colours - of semi-precious or glass jewellery, for example - take clues from the colours of clothes they wear, as well as their skin tone and hair. Black can look too harsh on pale-skinned people and blondes, while brown looks warm and lovely against pale skin. The light pink of Rose Quartz can get lost against pale skin, but looks fantastic on tanned or darker skins. Green stones look amazing on redheads and brunettes. Red can be a difficult colour - sometimes too vivid for redheads and ash blondes, but great for brunettes or golden/yellow blonde.

5. CHOOSING DIAMONDS
We have a whole section on choosing diamonds, so click here to read more.

6. PRECIOUS METALS
We have a whole section on choosing precious metals, so click here to read more.

7. CHAIN LENGTH
Traditionally, women's pendants commonly came on 16" or 18" chains. If a pendant is intended to be for everyday wear - with an open-necked shirt, for example - then 16" is usually fine; if it is for evening wear, with a lower cut neckline, 18" tends to be better. A petite or shorter woman is likely to suit 16", while a taller or larger woman may require 18". Most designers will swap the chain if it is too short or too long.

Much contemporary jewellery and fashion jewellery does not tend to stick to these lengths, however. Very long necklaces are fashionable, worn multi-layered and over-long; and pendants on suede or leather cords which can be tied at various lengths are increasingly popular. If you have a query about a particular piece, need more information, or would like some advice, just drop us an email to enquiries@fabulouscollections.co.uk or call us on 0845 4509334 and we'll be delighted to help.

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