Do you remember the Cartier Love bracelets that everyone was wearing a few years ago? I think it was Kylie Jenner who spent a few weeks, months or minutes with dozens piled up and down her wrists like Indian wedding bangles, and all of a sudden, they were absolutely everywhere. Despite their hefty price tag, the demand was so high that many shops sold out.
On whatever social media channel you went on, you would find influencers offering unboxings of the simply designed gold bangle, and the more people saw it, the more it became vital to own it. Of course, the market became oversaturated with real and fake pieces, and the ubiquitous piece eventually lost its lustre.
Now, the same is set to happen with the Van Cleef Alhambra collection, which has already spawned a million copies, blatant and not so blatant, and to be honest, I really think that it would be a shame if that happened to such an iconic collection of jewellery.
The problem is that people keep buying things for clout instead of genuinely liking them. Apart from the fact that many people actually incur debt to own certain pieces, which is never a good idea, once the fad is over or they start seeing the pieces everywhere, they no longer want them and cast them aside to the dark recesses of their jewellery boxes. The sad fact is even if you do end up selling your piece, chances are you will lose hundreds if not thousands on it once it has fallen out of favour.
It should go without saying, but you should only invest in things if you love them and if they fit your own personal style. It makes zero sense to spend significant amounts of money on pieces just because your favourite Kardashian wore them in one Instagram photo because they will be wearing something equally pricey in the next few days, and you’re going to feel even worse once your VISA bill comes and you realise that you’re going to have to spend the next few months paying off something you don’t even want to wear anymore.
I saw so many posts on the internet from people complaining that it was a hassle to get the Love bracelet off because of the screws and even more people complaining that the stone on their Alhambra piece cracked or got discoloured when they kept it on while swimming all summer. It was clear that no one had bothered to do the most basic homework on these items, even though all the information was readily available.
Perhaps spending more than a few minutes and a few thousand before choosing your ‘investment’ piece would be wise.
