I Like Shiny Things
I Like Shiny Things
My Mejuri jewelry collection (so far) + wishlist
When I was in my early 20s and first beginning to sow my seeds, harvest my steel cut oats, plant my organic pesticide-free tomatoes, whatever the kids are calling it these days, I would view first dates as the opportunity to put my best foot forward. To be sparkling. To be charming. To be dazzling. As I entered coffee shops, movie theatres, local parks, and breweries with butterflies in my stomach and the potential of forever on my mind I would ask myself a series of what we’ll politely dub The Wrong Fucking Questions.
How could I best polish up my personality to be appealing?
What can I say and how should I act in order to make this person like me?
How do I catch the light and contort myself into the optimal angles so both my cheekbone highlighter and my sense of humour glow just so in order to make myself just the right kind of attractive?
I’ll repeat dear friends that these are the incorrect questions to be asking yourself when you’re on a date. Because despite popular belief, dating is actually not tricking someone into liking the best parts of you. Some of us know this inherently (lucky you!). Some of us have to unlearn this and retrain ourselves away from the people pleasing, gifted student, eldest daughter / only child baseline. *raises hand awkwardly*
Of course now my advice to anyone on those first dates would be the often-delivered-but-rarely-followed-through advice of being yourself. And I say all this delightful and seemingly off-topic preamble to the topic of this post because if you are anything like me, in an effort to make yourself seem more appealing you tried to downplay certain perceived ‘high maintenance’ sides of yourself. These downplays were all in order to avoid the pitfalls of being the very worst thing a girl can be: Like Other Girls.
One such thing I would say in order to distance myself from said Other Girls was to frown upon silly material goods. And so I would say over a skinny nonfat latté or a small, unsalted bag of popcorn: “I don’t really like jewellery very much.”
And reader that was a lie.
A lie right up there with: “I’m not really hungry, I’ll just have a salad.” “I’ll be ready in five minutes.” “No, I’m not mad. I’m fine.”
Like all lies, the person who suffered the most was me because it took me 1.5 years to admit to my now-husband that I, in fact, like jewellery a lot. Very much, in fact! And that’s 1.5 years of gift giving opportunities I squandered that could have been used up on building my collection.
Which is how we circle back to the topic at hand: Shiny things!
It has somehow been two years since my last dedicated post on my Mejuri collection so it felt like the time was right for an update. In the last post I actually noted some of my ‘goals’ for the next few years:
1. Invest in lighter, daintier, thinner, basic pieces
2. Plan a daily earring stack where all three piercings complement one another
3. Get curious about bracelets!
I’m delighted to say I’ve checked off 2 and 3 and I think this Black Friday (the only time of year Mejuri does a sale) I’ll be actively working on 1.
In the meantime, let’s play catch up on my collection. As previously noted (italics are from my last post), my Mejuri collection is largely the result of personal purchases made over many, many years. A few are gifts but most are bought by me. I’m really proud of where I’ve gotten my jewellery collection to but I want to be clear that this was by no means built overnight.
As I did previously, I’ll break out my collection by vermeil and solid gold.
Gold Vermeil - A note that to some extent, all of my Mejuri vermeil has experienced some level of tarnishing over the years. Regular polishing (Mejuri provides tarnishing clothes with every purchase) and cleaning (I use an ultrasonic jewellery cleaner) will abate this but it’s just a reality of the material. Vermeil is a great option if you’re on a budget, don’t mind a little bit more maintenance, and you understand that there may be long-term drawbacks that mean it won’t be a ‘forever’ piece.
‘Croissant Dôme Hoops’ - These were a work gift and are a dainty but still substantial earring. I love that they’re like a twist on a classic gold hoop by adding that signature croissant texture.
‘Large Croissant Dôme Hoops’ - These were a birthday gift otherwise I probably wouldn’t have chosen both sizes of these hoops. That said, I’m not mad that I have both sizes. I love wearing these as a party or statement earring for an event or when I want to be more fancy. They are definitely more of a ‘moment’ of an earring.
‘Tube Hoops’ - I wanted a really oversized, simple gold hoop and these are indeed that. Because they are vermeil and also tubular they are incredibly lightweight despite their size. I love wearing these with a slicked center-part low bun and a bold lip.
‘Scorpio Ring’ - These signet zodiac rings are for some reason no longer sold. I love this ring for its obviously personal detail to me (a true Scorpio through and through!).
NEW! ‘Chunky Medium Hoops’ - A lot of my hoops are of a thinner variety if they have a larger circumference or are dainty and small or huggie-style. With that I felt there was a bit of a gap for me to have something chunkier but still wearable. These have been really great for that!
NEW! ‘Bold Pearl Drop Earrings’ - I ultimately wore these on my wedding day so I’m partial to say that they’re just lovely. :) They have an organic shape and feel substantial but really elegant.
Solid Gold - I have a lot of solid gold pieces and all of them have performed beautifully and perfectly. They’re as stunning today as they were the day I purchased in terms of colour and shine. They do take on very very very slight and light scratches on the surface from daily use but no more than expected from daily wear and they are otherwise perfect. I’m basically never going back from solid gold.
‘Thin Croissant Dome Ring’ - My first solid gold piece - a birthday gift from a few years ago. I still love and adore this ring. It’s not too thick or bubbly but is still special.
‘Duo Ring’ - The very first solid gold piece I purchased for myself and it’s honestly one of my favourite gold rings and I probably wear the most. It’s because it’s the most versatile of all my more ‘statement’ rings in that it’s simple, but special. It’s two rings in one and adds such a lovely texture to a ring stack but is still dainty and doesn’t ‘clash’ or try to fight for the spotlight in a stack.
‘Charlotte Ring’ - I am obsessed with how cool this ring is. Even though it’s slim length-wise on the hand it still is really the ‘star’ of the stack because of its texture and thickness. I love wearing it when I feel like I want to make a simple singular bold punch. It’s my favourite to elevate a really basic outfit of tee and jeans to make it bolder and fashion-y.
‘Heirloom Ring’ - This is truly so beautiful in person. It’s a piece that I’ll love and have forever. The topaz stone changes over time and patinas into a really beautiful honey amber colour that complements/blends in with the gold really nicely. NEW! Since the original post of course this Heirloom Ring has now become a Sarah Exact (hehe) that Taylor has worn multiple times in the ‘Garnet’ colourway that I’ve now also added to my collection. The red is lovely and deep in person so it feels more romantic.
‘Large Hoops’ - An excellent go-to daily hoop because they are very thin, dainty, and basically weightless. I like them for their larger size but they are whisper thin so they add like a ‘thread’ of gold to your ears.
‘Curb Necklace’ - I rarely, if ever, take this one off, including in the shower. It’s my daily necklace I wear that sits at the perfect length for t-shirts and blouses and elevates anything I wear.
NEW! ‘Paperclip Chain Necklace’ - After wearing and loving my Curb chain (above) for a very long time, I wanted something with a different texture that was still classic enough for daily use. After having seen the ‘Boyfriend’ chain necklace in person I ultimately decided I needed to make the investment leap into the next higher ‘price range’ with this paperclip chain for it to look and feel as substantial as I was wanting. FWIW, in person the Boyfriend chain is great but daintier than I was after. I also love the options this particular necklace offered. With this chain, I can spin the clasp to the back for a seamless paperclip chain look or I can wear it to the front, as intended, with charms dangling off the circular jump ring. I’m thinking in the next year or so I may pick up a few charms for that very purpose. Maybe an ‘S’ or a little pearl charm.
NEW! ‘Large Square Oval Chain Bracelet’ - As noted above, I really wanted to start working on my bracelet stack so last Black Friday I added this chain bracelet to my wrist and haven’t taken it off since. It’s the ‘anchor’ of my stack in that it’s the largest in terms of visual weight but very wearable and ‘normal’ for every day. I like the chain size a lot and of course it being solid gold it just never leaves my body.
NEW! ‘Multi Gemstone Station Bracelet Pearl’ - My wonderful best friend and maid of honour gifted me this the morning of my wedding to match my pearl headband and pearl earrings. It’s a very dainty and subtle piece but it’s one I’ll obviously cherish forever.
NEW! ‘Diamond Pearl Studs’ - As also noted regarding my ear stack now that I have three piercings in each ear, I wanted to upgrade my second and third piercings to something more permanent and intentional. I had read reviews of these earrings which all universally said ‘incredibly small’ (disappointing) which worked out well for me because I needed something tiny, dainty, and sweet for my third piercings. I’ll say they are indeed TEENY TINY ITTY BITTY. Again, they work well for my intended purposes as I wanted something very small for that placement in my ear. So! Word of caution if you want to buy these for your primary piercing and think they’ll draw the eye. They are VERY SMALL.
NEW! ‘Mini Hoop’ - These were a birthday gift and I asked for them specifically for my second piercing and I haven’t taken them out since. Super dainty and perfect for every day.
NEW! ‘Bold Pave Diamond Huggie Hoops’ - These were also a 30th birthday gift from my parents and I’m very grateful as they were quite pricey but I’m inclined to being spoiled on a big birthday. They are super classy and catch the light in an elegant way. Understated size, great for everyday. These are one of my favourite options for the office.
NEW! ‘Slim Signet Ring’ - This one was also a gift after I had spoken about wanting a dainty slim pinky ring (Haley James-Scott wears one almost constantly in One Tree Hill and I spotted it when I was doing a rewatch). Though we didn’t share a last name when it was given to me, it’s so special because it is engraved with my new initials (‘SEC’).
What’s Next - This coming Black Friday I plan to follow through on that one outstanding desire for my collection which is to build out the daintier everyday rings in my stack. Lately I really have found myself wanting simplicity and things that are more pared back. While I love my more ‘statement’ rings like the Heirloom and Charlotte, I do find I’m craving minimalism and simplicity. So here’s what’s on my list:
Stacker Ring / Diamonds Line Ring / Diamonds Open Ring / Dôme Huggies / Pearl Oversized Studs
Have you ever tried Mejuri? Do you have anything on your wishlist?