Milestone birthday jewellery: what actually gets worn afterwards
A survey of 2,000 people for the jeweller Beaverbrooks found that 44% of women and 28% of men own a keepsake they hold dear, and that 39% of millennial buyers own a watch or a piece of jewellery with a story behind it, either given new to mark a milestone or passed down. It was reported by Professional Jeweller on 3 July 2018, written by Stacey Hailes. The survey counted ownership, not how often any of it gets worn. That is the gap.
I am Anna Lou. I have made jewellery by hand in London for 22 years, from a stall on Portobello Road to Liberty, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Harrods. Birthday pieces come back to my bench more than any other kind, usually to be resized, sometimes to be remade.
The age is not really the question
An 18th, a 21st, a 30th and a 40th get treated as 4 separate shopping problems. They are the same problem. Will this be worn on an ordinary Tuesday, or kept for occasions? Everything else follows from the answer.
A piece worn daily has to survive hand washing, sleeves, seatbelts and being slept in. Sterling silver and gold vermeil both manage it, and both mark in time. Vermeil wears at the points where it rubs, at the back of a ring and under a clasp. Solid gold earns its price on a piece that is kept, because there is no plating to wear through. Solid gold for a 19 year old who will live in it is sensible. Solid gold bought because it sounds generous, for somebody who will put it away, becomes a drawer ornament.
Size is where birthday jewellery fails
You cannot ask. That is the whole difficulty. A ring is the riskiest guess in the shop: a ring a size too large spins, so an engraved face or a set stone ends up underneath the finger, and a band with stones set the whole way round cannot always be altered afterwards. If it has to be a ring, measure a ring she already wears against the ring size guide rather than guessing.
A pendant on a 16in or 18in chain suits almost any neck, studs fit everybody, and a stretch bracelet fits any wrist. The Chain Guide has the standard lengths.
Engrave the date, not the message
A date still reads well in 20 years. A message written in the voice of the year it was given rarely does. Initials, a birth date in numerals or roman numerals, a name: those stay legible. Everything engraved at my bench sits in Engraved Jewellery.
Order earlier than you think you need to
Personalised pieces from the workshop take up to 10 working days as standard. A commission runs longer. Writing in The Jewellery Editor on 8 November 2011, the designer Elizabeth Galton put the production of a bespoke piece at up to 6 weeks and sometimes longer, because stones have to be found and the design agreed in advance. Her best point: a brief should say plainly whether the wearer wants something decorative or, in her words, "a practical keepsake to wear everyday".
The best milestone present is often already in the family
What a granddaughter actually wants is often the piece nobody wears: a grandmother's ring that does not fit, a brooch nobody pins on, odd earrings, a broken chain. All of it can be taken apart and remade into something she will put on. That is what Second Life is: I lift the stones, design a new setting around them and reset them by hand in the studio. The stones stay, the gold stays, the story stays, and the shape changes. For a remade piece to be ready for Christmas, I need your photographs by Sunday 1 November, because remodelling has the earliest cut off of anything I make. Unwanted silver and gold can go through recycling instead.
Where I would start
The Personalised Initial Sideways Necklace is what I hand people who are stuck. The initial lies sideways along the chain, so it reads as a necklace rather than as a label. It is £80 in sterling silver, £90 in gold vermeil or rose gold vermeil and £425 in 14kt solid yellow or white gold.
It carries her name without announcing it, and there is no size to get wrong. I have watched 18 year olds wear these flat under a school shirt, and remade the same necklace in solid gold for a 40th.
Other ways in
For a date rather than a name, the Roman Special Date Numeral Bracelet engraves a birthday in roman numerals: £60 in sterling silver, gold vermeil or rose gold vermeil, and £420 in 14kt solid gold.
Initial Stud Earrings are £70 in sterling silver and £90 in gold vermeil or rose gold vermeil, and you can order a pair with 2 different initials. The Pearl Bracelet, £80 in sterling silver and £95 in gold vermeil, is strung on elastic with an initial charm, so it fits any wrist and settles the sizing problem outright. More is gathered in 18th Birthday Gifts and 21st Birthday Gifts.
The second life is the real one. Anna Lou x.
If it is already in a box at your mother's house, send me a photograph through Second Life. The estimate is free, and photographs by 1 November for Christmas.
Questions I get asked
What should I buy for an 18th birthday if I do not know her ring size?
Buy something with no size to get wrong. A pendant on a 16in or 18in chain, a pair of studs, or a stretch bracelet like the Pearl Bracelet at £80, which fits any wrist. If it has to be a ring, measure a ring she already owns against the ring size guide, and allow for the fact that a loose ring spins.
Can you remake family jewellery into a birthday present?
Yes, and it is often the better present. Inherited rings, loose stones, old diamonds, broken chains and odd earrings are all remade by hand in my London studio through Second Life. Send a photograph for a free estimate. Each piece is quoted individually, because the cost depends on what you already have. Photographs by Sunday 1 November for Christmas.
How long does personalised jewellery take to make?
Up to 10 working days as standard, with express 5 working day production offered at checkout. Anything remodelled takes longer, because the design is worked out with you before any work starts, and a full bespoke commission can run to 6 weeks or beyond. Engraved pieces are made to order, so they cannot be returned.