Angelflutter wrote: ↑4 years ago
I am a very late bloomer when it comes to jewelry. I think I had 1 silver ring that I wore throughout high school. Then of course I had to have the obligatory class ring. Which unfortunately is probably still sitting at the bottom of Storm Lake in Storm Lake Iowa. ( Long story involving a paddle boat and nude sunbathing on said paddle boat. ) All in the pursuit of having no tan lines. But, I did on occasion in my 20's make a stop at the jewelry store if something would happen to catch my eye as I walked past it. Of course, what was in the window was ALWAYS to rich for my bank account. I guess I thought that GOOD jewelry was not in the cards for me. Now mind you... my mother was a jewelry fanatic and I always teased her about her stash. I mean , really? I used to tell her " You only have 10 fingers, Why do you need X amount of rings?" You only have 1 neck. Why do you have 30 necklaces? And why in the world do you wear earrings? No one can see them. And why would you spend money on something that you can't even see." I got married at 24 and had the obligatory engagement and wedding ring set. Very seldom wore it. Felt restricting and it was always turning and pinching my other fingers. Skip ahead to my early 50's. I discovered the Tennessee station and started purchasing gemstones. ( Loved watching Cheryl and was educated mostly by her about gemstones) Why? I have no clue. I think the first gemstone that I bought was a beautiful really fancy schmancy cut purple Amethyst. Then they had a couple more different gemstones that I purchased that day as well. I was always trying to purchase gemstones that had different fancy cuts. Again, why. I obviously was not going to have any of them set into jewelry pieces. My mom used to watch HSN and QVC, and I remember that when I used to go visit and she was watching one of the jewelry shows, I cut the visit short and left. I just did not like sitting there watching someone present 1 piece of jewelry for 15 to 20 minutes. So somewhere in around 2007, I finally splurged for cable TV. At night when I came home from work J*V and I think Rocks TV or Gemporia ( it was both but I can't remember what the name of the station was first ) hubby was in bed and I spent time watching one channel or the other. The first ring I bought from them was a three stoned Tanzanite with diamond halos around each stone. It was around the first time that I had seen a Quad A Tanzanite at my local jeweler - but, Gemporia's was much, much cheaper. Divorced hubby. Spent more time watching HSN, QVC, Rocks ( Gemporia ). Got married to someone else, got satellite, found Shop LC in around 2011. Started purchasing from under $10 Friday shows. Occasionally would find something a little bit more expensive and introduced myself and my debit card to stretch pay. So here we are 2020, and I have over 250 rings, 60 bracelets and a couple of dozen necklaces..... and 2 pairs of earrings. Still can't justify buying something that I cannot see unless I look in a mirror. So ladies... the moral of my story is " Never Say Never. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would become Ms. Got Rocks. And yes, I am now a jewelry snob. I still purchase from Shop LC. ( At least I did till a couple of months ago. ) I will no longer be shopping there till they get their sh*t back to the way it used to be. So anything I purchase from now on will probably be through J*V. I was looking something up earlier today and did NOT realize how much Bella they have. My goodness. I have enough real gemstones, that Bella will cure my itch and who knows, maybe I will purchase the good stuff if the price is right. Just in case anybody wondered.... I am 63 years old.
Hi Angelflutter!,
No worries about blooming as everyone is unique and
beautiful and dives in when they’re darn good & ready!
I bloomed late as well and now it’s such a passion of mine. I started with loose gemstones ( all kinds) and jewelry later on. I love well thought out design. Beauty,
undergalleries, diamonds on the prongs, gems bezel set
in the side galleries, top quality craftsmanship sends me
to the moon. I almost think I should start a group for
gemaholics/jewelry fiends anonymous. I don’t think we’re too destructive except to our wallets and we get so much out of our obsession. Welcome to the forum
And I hope it continues 
PLEASE CONTINUE ❣❣ Please keep posting this has been really nice way of getting to know each other better. 
