Blog: buying jewellery online – insider guide

We think it’s time to embrace the word recycled. Recycled used to mean toilet paper – rough toilet paper! These days recycled means ideal, sustainable and noble.

As a company, we have been recycling fine jewellery since 2011. We buy items made by distinguished jewellery houses like Cartier and Tiffany & Co. We then service and polish the items so that they look new or nearly new. Our engagement rings are always sold in “Proposal Ready” condition which means what is says!

As we do not support manufacturing at its source – our items are already made and do not require much in the way of additional resources. We are practically carbon neutral!

Pre-owned, second hand, recycled used to mean second best. We think that idea has been turned upside down. As we all seek to make the planet a better place to live we must embrace recycling in all its forms whether it’s paper or jewellery.

We are proud to sell recycled fine jewellery and we think you’ll be proud to wear it.

Cartier as investment? Can we expect that our Cartier jewellery purchases will increase in value?

Since its founding in 1847 the Cartier name has been synonymous with luxury. "Cartier is the King of Jewellers and the Jewellers of Kings" said Edward VII, more than 100 years ago. A brand with such fine pedigree, standing the test of time for more than 150 years should be looked at with more seriousness than just a purveyor of fine jewellery.

We have found that since Bloomsbury Manor began in 2011 the price of pre owned Cartier jewellery has markedly increased. We are looking at rises of 20-30% particularly across collectors pieces such as Panthere, C de Cartier, Bamboo and Trinity. There are more modest increases from the more well known Love collection. The slightly rarer collector's pieces are more rare and demand is strong from people wanting to invest in a piece which is both wearable and likely to increase in value. The Panthere range has been fashionable since the 1930s, King Edward VIII's consort The Duchess of Windsor was a keen fan. The collection has never been out of fashion as far as we are aware! C de Cartier, Trinity and Bamboo have all evolved over time and customers are both interested in vintage and current designs.

With Global financial uncertainty becoming constant background noise we would counsel that a solid investment in a tried and tested asset class would be wise. With dwindling supply and demand increasing we foresee that any Cartier collector's piece bought now might be worth 20% more in 5 years.

How can anyone resist?

Here are some investment pieces.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are no guarantee of future growth.

Jean Schlumberger was arguably Tiffany & Co's most important designer. His talent with colour and enamel proved to be an instant hit with wealthy, well-heeled women. Many of his designs from the 1950s onwards are still in production today, with his 'Jackie' paillonne enamel bracelet being the most famous example. 

Perhaps more than any other of Tiffany & Co.'s designers, Jean Schlumberger pieces not only hold their value, but tend to increase in value over time. His jewellery is highly collectable amongst the well-healed connoisseur.

With a firey orange spessartite garnet weighing 6.71ct at its centre and an additional 2ct of scintillating white diamonds, in a classic Schlumberger setting, this piece is sure to delight the wearer or collector. Please see the ring here or call 0207 692 5103 for more details.  Please note that this ring is re-sizable by Tiffany & Co. Currently size 5 (J 1/2 to K).

You may or may not have noticed change in the air, it’s subtle right now but in five years perhaps we’ll realise that we’ve all stopped craving handbags and we’ve started craving particular pieces of jewellery?!

The designer handbag; Gucci, Tods’, Hermes, Vuitton has been the accessory of choice every since the mid nineties when Prada made the world take notice of their modern black nylon creations. Every fashionista had a Prada bag and every regular woman wanted one. When Tom Ford took over Gucci even more bag desire was created!

Think about jewellery during that time. Cartier was still making Love rings, a style largely unchanged since its inception in the seventies. Tiffany & Co had its never changing (and always desirable engagement rings) and some well-known silver designs, which were created in the seventies and eighties. We loved jewellery but we weren’t hooked on it. We didn’t use it to mark out our identity.

Those days are over! After more than a decade concentrating on high-end jewellery all the big jewellery houses; Tiffany & Co, Cartier and Bulgari have shifted focus onto the high fashion segment of their businesses. All have created new iconic ranges, aimed at the same women who have only had eyes for handbags - until now!

Tiffany & Co. has managed to almost single-handedly shift focus from the Chanel flap to the Tiffany T. The ‘T’ collection is a game changer, pulling in desire from the desire makers: fashion editors and celebrities. Once these guys are hooked we are all hooked! With new design director Francesca Amfitheatrof at the helm they have managed to distill all of the brand’s elegance, creativity and longevity into one collection!

Then there’s Bulgari’s Diva collection, modern yet exuding the classic lines of the art deco era. Mother of pearl and Onyx provide the cool yet classic juxtapositions to the gold tones of this collection. 'Diva' is all diva but in a wearable fashionable way.

At Cartier, designers have been channelling the spirit of the classic Love and Trinity collections into the new and super slick Juste une Clou and Amulette de Cartier. In common with the Tiffany T and Diva range, Cartier’s offering is aimed at a modern woman who wants to look sleek and groomed.

Will jewellery really replace handbags? At Bloomsbury Manor we think that handbags will still be important but that more and more women will be looking to complement their wardrobe with high fashion fine jewellery in the £500 - £10,000 range. None of the premium handbag makers need worry too much though as pretty much all of them sell jewellery too!