Okay, here's the scoop: My best friend's birthday is this month (actually it's in two days, but she's 900 miles away and I won't be near her for another week so this isn't as last minute as it looks!) and I want to buy her a nice necklace as a gift. I bought her a very nice pendant a few years ago but she lost it when her purse was stolen about a year ago when we were out cycling.
I'm also sick of the two of us constantly buying stuff of our Amazon wish lists for each other. Sure we're happy with what we get, but we could just as well buy it ourselves and skip the ritual. And I know she's going off-list for me for Christmas this year, so I'm putting pressure on myself to get her something she'll like that's unexpected, and like I said, I want to replace the necklace that was stolen.
So, I sort of settled on the idea of trying to find her a shamrock pendant with emeralds for the clovers. Then I found out how much emeralds were. Plus I couldn't really find one that looked right. I did however stumble upon this green amber shamrock pendant that I think looks pretty snazzy. Green, by the way, is her favorite color. Plus she's Irish, she loves all things Irish, and spent a semester in Ireland (near Galway, where these things are made and shipped from). My only negative on this is that it looks kind of shoddy and cheap, and it IS cheap. I looked a few other places for amber shamrocks and they were all much more expensive. I'm the kind of person that tends to think cheap things are cheap for a reason (though I know that often expensive things are just overpriced, I have a little cognitive dissonance going on). So I'm not totally sure I trust the seller.
I also found this silver tree with green amber pendant from a much more reputable seller. I was on the site looking for shamrocks and happened upon this. She tends to like bigger jewelry at times, like big dangling earrings and sometimes bigger pendants as well as smaller ones. And she loves trees (who doesn't?) so I think she'd like it, but I'm a little less sure. On the other hand, I think it looks a lot sharper and of higher quality. A little less "cheap" looking than the other one.
I'm basically 50/50 at this point. I lean towards the shamrock because of the Irish thing, and I lean back toward the tree because she really does like trees and I just think it's a lot nicer.
Anyone have a gut "ew that's ugly" or "oo pretty" reaction?
Posted by ambyr (Member # 7616) on :
For mass-produced jewelry, I think both of those are actually rather on the expensive side; they're really common designs and I've seen them cheaper at fairs and shops. But hey, your money.
Of the two, I like the tree better. But I also prefer handmade stuff--maybe something like this?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I'd prefer something more unique myself, but that sort of dramatically increases the price over and above even my apparently overpriced options here.
I could find something for probably five or ten dollars that LOOKS like the tree design and the shamrock, but it wouldn't be real silver, and it wouldn't be amber. It'd be really shiny nickel or steel with glass or plastic green beads. I don't know where to go, that I could get to in the next couple weeks, that would have decent materials at a better price.
As it happens, I really like your link, but that's even more expensive than what I'm working with.
Edit to add: What is this site? I'm browsing around and finding some other interesting options.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I'm also considering these, either as a set, or individually:
I was also considering this because it has a pearl with it, and that's her birthstone.
No, I don't know why I've fixated on green amber. I'm a little annoyed that some of the pictures look greener than others, but I'm assuming that's because the stone changes color a bit depending on the light source. But on the whole I think it looks rather nice.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
A warning: don't buy jewelry for a friend unless you want her to conclude that your intentions are romantic.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: A warning: don't buy jewelry for a friend unless you want her to conclude that your intentions are romantic.
I don't agree with this. Certainly that can be an impression given depending on the girl. But I gave two girls I was very close with in high school rings, when I left to go on a mission. I wrote letters that accompanied both of them. I'd never dated either of them, we'd just hung out and talked a lot. The two girls were not friends with each other either. I'd never made passes at either of them, and I never got the impression they thought those rings meant I was going to start.
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
I don't agree either. I think perfume, underwear or something equally intimate or out of all reason expensive are the only sure ways to accidentally imply a romantic connection.
Otherwise, depending on the girl, it could be pretty difficult to find something she'd like. I have the same problems sometimes buying for guys.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
Of the first two, I like the second one best (really like). Neutral about the other sets - they're fine, but the second one is great.
If you want something handmade, try Etsy.com. I put in the search term celtic tree of life and 389 items came up. Shamrock comes up with 689 items.
Quality varies greatly, as this site shows. But there are quite a few good items in there.
Posted by Stone_Wolf_ (Member # 8299) on :
Maybe she would like a Green Man? I guess it's more Celtic then Irish though.
Posted by Misha McBride (Member # 6578) on :
How about Irish themed jewelry made from real Connemara green marble mined in Ireland?
Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn:
I was also considering this because it has a pearl with it, and that's her birthstone.
If her birthday is this month, her birthstone is opal or pink tourmaline, not pearl. Pearl is the birthstone for June.
ETA: I like both of the original selections, but the handmade Etsy piece blows them both away. A bit spendy though...
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I'm the kind of person that tends to think cheap things are cheap for a reason (though I know that often expensive things are just overpriced, I have a little cognitive dissonance going on). So I'm not totally sure I trust the seller.
There's no dissonance there. "All cheap things are low-quality," and "Some expensive things are low-quality," are not contradictory.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: A warning: don't buy jewelry for a friend unless you want her to conclude that your intentions are romantic.
Nah she knows better. We've been friends for ten years, and I'll explain it's meant to replace the gift that was lost. If it were a different female friend I'd hesitate a lot more, but this will be fine.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Misha McBride: How about Irish themed jewelry made from real Connemara green marble mined in Ireland?
Great idea.
I've added this from that website to my short list of gift ideas. I just can't tell how big it is. But I like it.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by maui babe:
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn:
I was also considering this because it has a pearl with it, and that's her birthstone.
If her birthday is this month, her birthstone is opal or pink tourmaline, not pearl. Pearl is the birthstone for June.
ETA: I like both of the original selections, but the handmade Etsy piece blows them both away. A bit spendy though...
Opal, that's right. I even looked it up, and now I have no idea where I suddenly switched from opal to pearl. Weird. Thanks for the reminder!
I agree on the Etsy piece, that is rather stunning. I think it's a bit out of my price range though. Can you haggle with people on Etsy? Frankly the Tree in my first post is probably a little outside what my price range SHOULD be, but I've pinched my pennies these past few months and can splurge a little.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by CaySedai: Of the first two, I like the second one best (really like). Neutral about the other sets - they're fine, but the second one is great.
If you want something handmade, try Etsy.com. I put in the search term celtic tree of life and 389 items came up. Shamrock comes up with 689 items.
Quality varies greatly, as this site shows. But there are quite a few good items in there.
I kind of like this, and it's certainly in my price range, but I'm not sure how I feel about getting a pin. She collects pins but rarely wears them. I wonder if I could see about turning it into a pendant.
Posted by CT (Member # 8342) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I kind of like this, and it's certainly in my price range, but I'm not sure how I feel about getting a pin. She collects pins but rarely wears them. I wonder if I could see about turning it into a pendant.
I like that, too. You could try asking the Etsy seller if this could be made into a pendant or if he/she has another similar one to be used as a pendant.
I am going to go out on a limb and say this: I love my friends. The economy is tight, and I don't want them even easing near "a little more than I should" for me. I think staying well within your budget while finding something nice and appropriate is an even bigger gift to those who care for you.
But I am sure you will know best. Really, you will. And she will love it.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
I did a quick search and came up with this. The celtic work looks good to me and it looks to be in your range, maybe. There's a $5 off coupon you can find on the front page too.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
I'll add, emerald is an expensive stone to get any sort of quality with, but green amethyst is very pretty as well.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I like the tree and the green stone shamrock the best.
Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
I like the shamrock pin best of all. I think asking if you can get it made as a pendant is a great suggestion.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
You can get a very nice but cheap emerald by shopping online for a synthetic (which is still an emerald, just as the output of a manufacturing process).
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
It's so much easier to just buy presents from a list.
I have it narrowed down to either the shamrock pendent in my first post or the shamrock brooch from Etsy. I'm waiting to hear back from the seller but if I don't hear soon, I'll go with the original. I considered just buying the one from Etsy and then having a jeweler add a bail to it, but that might end up being more expensive than just getting the one that's already a pendent.
I ended up lowering my budget closer to the $50 range. I love gift giving, and normally I'm willing to go a little overboard, but I think CT is right, she'll like it no matter what I spend on it, and I shouldn't feel compelled to overspend.