adam payne's got it right.....LISTEN., and don't go cheap.  I don't want my jewelry from WALMART, plz. 

I made the mistake of telling my hubby not to buy me flowers because they die.  Well, he doesn't buy me flowers anymore.  I meant it at the time, but geez, I'd love some spontaneous flowers now and then.  Now, I just buy my own.  OOPS!

I love my hubby. He's the best I swear! Funny, Sexy, smart,  (in that order)  :-D

But, he stinks in the romance dept!

In all our 9 years he has never bought a gift for me.

It just isn't him

:-)

I have learned to live with it.

Ryan:

I have been selling jewelry for the the past 13 years at the pawn shop where I work.  The truth is, most men do NOT have a clue about jewelry. When I ask about the jewelry their wife already owns or their wife's ring size, 90% can't even remember what their wife currently wears, so they truly don't have a clue about their wife's taste in jewelry.

While I would always like to sell the 3/4 carat diamond solitaire or the eight carat diamond tennis bracelet, I try to steer the unwitting husband away from impulsively buying an ugly ring just because it has an expensive price.  I don't make commission so I can be completely honest with the customer and not threaten my budget. 

Why go "Pawnshopping"? 

At a jewelry store or the mall, the store has a HUGE overhead that must be paid and guess what? 

THE CUSTOMER IS GOING TO PAY IT!

Why pay a 800-1000% mark-up if you don't have to? 

The savings can be enormous!   Example:  Ladies Rolex -  Retail price:$5,000 to $5,500.00.  My price:$$2,000.00.

Even if you don't buy your jewelry from me, (and I sincerely hope you do) buy your jewelry at a pawn shop!  If you can't or won't bring her with you, look at what she wears most often to see whether she likes large flashy jewelry or stylish yet tastefully under-stated jewelry. 

If you don't know her ring size, borrow one of her rings and bring it in - the salesperson will check the size and get a feel for her taste in jewelry to help you with your purchase. 

Most important of all, LISTEN TO HER WHEN SHE TALKS TO HER FRIENDS ABOUT JEWELRY (this applies to shopping for clothes also) we men are almost always guilty of "tuning out" the ladies when they talk among themselves. 

Want advice? Looking for a great gift that won't break your budget?  Come see me  I'll be honest with you about your purchase, There is NO high pressure sell, and there is something for every budget.

Finally, if the salesperson is "pushy" move on to another store.  Never (ever) let a salesperson push you into a sale you are not ready for or sure of.

Want to do an interesting newspaper piece?  Come see me and don't just interview me, TALK TO MY CUSTOMERS!  I don't have anything to hide. Compare what I sell to the jewelry at the mall and you'll see why the jewelry stores don't like pawn shops!

**** Note: My store name and location was removed at the request of The Bakersfield Californian***

I didn't know blogs had commercials!

My ex bought me jewelry twice after we were married; a pair of diamond solitaire earrings, and a string of pearls.  I love them both!  But guys, you don't have to buy jewelry to show your wives you appreciate them.  Flowers are always nice (as WOOF found out kinda the hard way), a plant, a stuffed animal, even a card, purchased for no reason....anything that shows that you are thinking of them and that you love them!  One time out of the clear blue, my brother bought me a big, stuffed rabbit.  Kind of goofy, but the fact that he cared enough, meant the world to me.

My last jewelry purchase was somewhat sneaky.  Spouse #2 admired a particular piece of jewelry but didn't think we could afford it.  I went back next day and purchased it.  By the time said spouse reconsidered and wanted to go back, sad to say, they didn't have the piece available anymore.  Unfortunately, this set off a number of visits to the same jewelry counter to ask whether it was back in stock, would they be getting more, etc.  All the time the piece was carefully stashed on a shelf at home.  :)

.

Flowers are *ALWAYS* appreciated. 

My wife's favorite gift is jewelry.  Its kind of hard to understand, because she already has enough to open her own store.  But she still likes to get new stuff.  Most of the jewelry she owns never comes out of her walk-in jewelry closet.  Anyway, after 20 years, she no longer trusts me to buy jewelry for her, not because I won't pick something she likes, but because I will pay too much for whatever I buy.  She fancies herself to be some kind of expert now, so she only buys jewelry from the LA jewelry mart.  She loves to go down there and haggle with all the vendors, which I hate to do.  However, I do love to go with her and watch her in action.

Jewlery is the most unimaginative gift a man can give his wife. While dating, it's great, but how long do you have to think about diamond earrings, or a bracelet, or God forbid, an anklet? I love gifts that took some effort to get, my husband once got me an entire collection of hard cover books of my favorite author. I loved it! I try to do the same. I have a friend that lives in Denver and my husband is a huge Bronco fan, so when they tore down Mile High, I had her get me two flats of the grass that covered the field. All it cost me was shipping because they were giving it away. You would have thought I had invited Shanahan over for dinner. You can only have so much jewlery, I don't want to go around with the Mr T starter kit around my neck. Once married, give thoughtful gifts, ones that show you really know your spouse.

Trish

Trish is right on.

Honestly (for me) the best gifts my husband has given me, over the past 9 years, is, his saying "yes" when I tell him I want to take in a homeless pet.

:-)

pamg:

Sorry if my post sounded like a commercial.  I am so passionate about how jewelry stores rip-off people I sometimes get carried away.  The jewelry stores would have you believe every single diamond is very very valuable but the truth is any diamond smaller than 1/10th carat is almost worthless.  To get an idea how large a 1/10th carat diamond is think of the typewritten letter "O" in ten-pitch font.  That's approximately the size of a 1/10th carat diamond.  The jewelry stores would sell this for several hundred dollars, pawn shops would sell it for about $125.00.

The reason I'm so passionate about spreading the word is before I worked at a pawn shop I would buy jewelry retail (a lot of jewelry) I was misled, lied to and ripped off by salespeople who pretended to be honest professional people who turned out to be nothing more than licensed thieves.