Inflation

[laurence]

DW isn't into "joolry", but she loves vacations. We'll be blowing a few grand on a trip to Hawaii next spring. You can only scrimp so much, and I don't exactly suffer giving in to that request!

 

[haha]

BTW, I am all in favor of jewelry, trips, nice clothes, $100 hair doos, Ferragamo. whatever you like and can afford.

I was just remembering the old "I live on 49 cents a day" posts that used to fill me with envy, until I realized that they were mostly BS. 

I don't see any virtue at all in deprivation. We clearly need to get to that (4 x expenses) level if we are to retire. Some of us can do it with high salaries, some with high ROI, but others will mostly have to scrimp pretty hard, or alter the goal.

Ha

 

[ESRBob]

BTW, I am all in favor of jewelry, trips, nice clothes, $100 hair doos, Ferragamo. whatever you like and can afford.

Yeah -- when you consider the alternative, it could actually be cheap! If that is what it takes to help keep a marriage glued together, (and you can afford it) it all seems well worth it.

 

[Scrooge]

We clearly need to get to that (4 x expenses) level if we are to retire.

Wait, wait! We need minimal living expenses times four in order to be able to retire? I can see 1.2-1.5, just to be on the safe side, but 4?

 

[REWahoo]

BTW, I am all in favor of jewelry...

Hmmmmm. Pre-teen daughter asks, "Mom, where do babies come from?"

Mom launches into an explanation of a loving relationship between a man and woman, a general description of "sex", and how that leads to pregnancy and childbirth.

After listening intently to her mom's explanation, the daughter says, "OK. If sex is where babies come from, what about oral sex?"

Mom smiles and replies, "Sweetie, that's where jewelry comes from."

 

[shiny]

I am not into jewelry, I barely wear what I have.

I repeat

 

[Scrooge]

I am not into jewelry, I barely wear what I have.

I repeat   

It all depends on how you parse "barely" in that sentence 

 

[haha]

Wait, wait! We need minimal living expenses times four in order to be able to retire? I can see 1.2-1.5, just to be on the safe side, but 4? 

I mess this up all the time. I personally use minimal expenses x40. So if you could get by on $25,000 pa, you need $1 million. Others may use a higher level of living expenses x a smaller number, eg 25 for the commonly accepted 4% SWR.

Ha

 

[Scrooge]

I mess this up all the time. I personally use minimal expenses x40. So if you could get by on $25,000 pa, you need $1 million. Others may use a higher level of living expenses x a smaller number, eg 25 for the commonly accepted 4% SWR.

Oh! Thanks, that makes me feel much better! 8)

 

[ladelfina]

You mean jewelry shops have 100-150% markup??

um, pretty much all retail has markups of at least 100%.

Brewer, the jewelry is a wise investment (even if you didn't get it at a discount). Most women do a disproportionate share of the household duties, so it's nice to have a little perk that says "thanks!"  I don't 'expect' jewelry or gifts, but I think I might if DH's relative was in the biz. Just like I'd be annoyed to have a broken-down car if he had a relative nearby who was a mechanic...    ... so you in particular pretty much 'hafta' come up with something every now and again.

Best wishes to both of you on your anniversary!

 

[brewer12345]

um, pretty much all retail has markups of at least 100%.

FWIW, I priced as close as I could get to the ring I am buying on Blue Nile and the equivalent was coming out at over $10k. Gives you an idea of the mark-ups, and that is without retail store overhead.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Jewelry markup is pretty nutty.

When my dad was still teaching at Tufts, I had access to his investment centrifuge (not the same kind of investment!). I could buy wax pieces to make molds of the usual jewelry you'd buy at the mall, rings, earrings, necklaces...invest that (make a mold out of it) and fill them with any metal I wanted, bought at wholesale.

Putting together some of the complex necklaces was a huge pain in the butt, but I could knock out a ring or earrings, have a few stones set, and for a couple of hours, $20 for the wax piece, a hundred for the gold, and whatnot...

I saw the same pieces selling for 4-5x my out of pocket costs at the mall. The easy one (and fashionable at the time) was making gold 'nugget' rings for all my friends. For around a hundred bucks I could make a ring that sold for $500-800 at a jewelry store.

Yeah, theres some markup...

Costco does carry some fairly good quality stuff at decent prices for those without a family connection. And I highly recommend Blue Nile for great selection and good prices.

 

[Martha]

Plasma tvs, not diamonds: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060802/od_nm/life_technology1_dc_2

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I think that survey just means that one in four men havent learned to sign their wives names to a survey yet...

 

[justin]

I think that survey just means that one in four men havent learned to sign their wives names to a survey yet...

I'd have to say my wife cares very little about jewelry (flowers - different story!). She wants useable things. Things that will improve her life. Furniture. A big(ger) tv (that was the birthday present for her and I and father's day all in one). Kitchen remodel. At least it's stuff I may (directly) benefit from too.

 

[laurence]

DW already told me to save the jewelry money for the kitchen remodel, she hates the kitchen and loves to cook, so I'm 100% behind this expenditure!

 

[HFWR]

There goes the BMI...   

 

[justin]

DW already told me to save the jewelry money for the kitchen remodel, she hates the kitchen and loves to cook, so I'm 100% behind this expenditure!

If only the wife would cook, I wouldn't mind a kitchen remodel so much. The extent of cooking in the house is usually boiling pasta or cooking taco meat once a week and microwaving other things the rest of the week. Not like you need the latest model of the 6-burner nat gas viking stainless steel stove for that!

 

[starboardtack]

FWIW, I priced as close as I could get to the ring I am buying on Blue Nile and the equivalent was coming out at over $10k.  Gives you an idea of the mark-ups, and that is without retail store overhead.

Another attractive and very cost effective option, found by accident after I was searching for an old camera, presented itself in a pawn shop.  Seems most folks want to purchase "new" diamonds instead of "old" diamonds (truly relative terms when speaking of diamonds formed tens of thousands of years ago) as found in pawned and not reclaimed rings and brooches.  Various conversations with pawnbrokers and independent research revealed this to be the case.  Thus, DW: wearing 20 yr anniversary ring with "old" high quality diamonds (no inclusions or feathers in table, F color) in new setting for way below "jeweler or wholesale" cost.  Me:  happy fellow eating and sleeping well with minor ding in wallet.   

 

[ESRBob]

Great idea!
Do you think the cuts have changed materially since the old days? I guess you're limited in selection, but if you just cruise the pawnshops looking for a decent sized rock, you can then remount it almost any way you like. Hmmm.... like that idea. What would you say is the savings as a percentage after you factor in a new setting -- is it 50% of what you were seeing for 'new' millions-of-years-old diamonds, (which would put it at around wholesale) or even better than that?

 

[SonnyJim]

I have often heard what a great "investment" joolery was, but I don't see how unless you have the family connection. Who is going to buy your "old" stuff for more than you paid for it as the style will certainly be dated, or is this just another myth perpetuated by the DeBeers cartel? Just a thought

 

[astromeria]

I wear my grandmother's diamond ring and get a lot of compliments on it--the diamonds are small, but the setting isn't (and it makes the diamonds look larger), and it's unusual as well as beautiful. She was married in the 20s so I guess that's the style --she actually reset her own mother's or grandmother's diamonds. I wear no other wedding or engagement ring (neither does my husband--we didn't buy them). The metal is what they call "white gold"--but I don't really know what that is. The last time I got it cleaned, I asked the jeweler if that was a synonym for platinum or silver, and she said no.

I wouldn't buy jewelry as an investment--unless it's a famous, unique or otherwise special piece (belonged to royalty or a celebrity?), I don't think it appreciates more than inflation at best, or so I have heard.

EDIT white gold is an alloy of gold plus one or more silver-toned metals...basically an imitation of platinum:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_gold
http://gilletts.com.au/information.php?info_id=26

hmm, I've never had the ring replated and I've been wearing it for 0ver 20 years.

 

[haha]

White gold is produced by alloying the pure gold with a whitish metal. Nickel or palladium are often used, but I believe silver is sometimes used also.

Mot yellow carat golds OTOH are made by alloying the gold with copper. And of course, pure gold has the perfect color!

Ha

 

[Nords]

I have often heard what a great "investment" joolery was,  but I don't see how unless you have the family connection. 

When my mother died, my father gave my spouse first pick from Mom's jewel box. I think that jewel boxes are personal items which tend to lay around in plain sight for years without their owners discussing their contents. I remember seeing Mom's jewel box on her dresser ever since I've had memories, but I was 36 when Mom died and Dad's offer to spouse was the first time I'd ever seen the inside of Mom's jewel box.

In the bottom tray we found three 1950s-style engagement rings, all with very flamboyantly large (valuable?) diamonds. This gave us the impression that Mom had been previously engaged at least three times, but she'd never discussed that with Dad! Spouse made her choice, we talked about the implications for a few minutes, the box was put away, and the subject was never revisited. I think the rings were sold but I guess I'll know more when we have to sort through Dad's jewelry box someday...

 

[ESRBob]

hmm, I've never had the ring replated and I've been wearing it for 0ver 20 years.

I guess you wouldn't need to replate it, since it is a solid piece of the same alloy, that all got blended together when the metal was molten, right? (warning: sculptor bob starting to wade into metallurgy, an up-and-coming area of interest about which he knows nothing at all currently )