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Senior Lifestyle Writer
It is true that diamonds are girl’s best friends, meaning to say most households have some jewellery.

But did you know that purchasing jewellery is not easy for most of the women who want to beautify themselves and look more gorgeous.

The trend has spread to fashion enthusiastic men too. Gone are the days when, jewellery was associated with the elite powerful men and women.

It is known that we all look for the jewellery pieces that are elegant in their designs, are made of perfect and precious materials and are affordable at the same time.

These are three features which are difficult to be found in most of the jewellery being sold.

Because we do not always purchase jewellery, we can focus more on the materials and the elegance of the pieces regardless of the price, which will be certainly high.

For most of us, jewellery represents a substantial purchase and even an investment. Think of United States millionaire Jacob Arabo, popularly known as ‘‘Jacob the Jeweller’’ who made millions thanks to his creative mind to beautify those interested. Customers flew from all corners of the world to get his wares.

In Zimbabwe there are a number of creative designers that focus on jewellery. One of such places is Mystique Jewels which is located in Avondale, Westgate and the CBD.

On entering the shops, one can be forgiven for liking the settings to Paris or New York because of the atmosphere and colour coordination.

Mystique Jewels showroom

In an interview, an official from Mystique Jewels, Shiraaz Hassam Kassam said jewellery is important in our day to day life and was happy that business is great despite the economic challenges.

Mr Kassam said they sell wedding rings, wedding sets, bracelets, chains, earring and brooches. They engage clients on a personal level to ensure they suit their needs. He said there are numerous things to consider when buying jewellery.

“Whether you intend to buy from a high street retailer or one of numerous online outlets, there are several things you should first consider before taking the plunge such as, who is the jewellery for, your budget and knowing your jeweller.

“At Mystique Jewels most of our items are manufactured in our own state of the art workshops hence we can make something special for everyone.

“If you’re buying as a gift, we would suggest asking outright what they would prefer, or if it is for a  surprise occasion, make a note of the jewellery the person in question usually wears. Something understated will usually go down much better than a loud ostentatious piece.

“Buying for yourself is always going to easier than buying for a friend or a member of family,” he said.

Mr Kassam said that jewellery is a very personal matter and what some of us like won’t necessarily appease everyone else.

“Jewellery can be bought for as little as $20. What will most heavily influence the price is what the jewellery is made out of as well as the overall level of quality either in real gold or silver.

“Even real diamonds can be bought for only a couple hundred dollars, but they will of course be much smaller and lower in quality than more expensive ones,” he said.

Mr Kassam said some pieces of their jewellery are more delicate than others.

“This is perfectly normal but care should be taken if the intended wearer is the active type. In this case, we would suggest a hard wearing metal such as silver, gold or platinum which can better withstand knocks and scratches than pure gold.

“Also consider the type of fastener that the piece of jewellery employs as something flimsy as found on cheaper necklaces won’t suit everyone,” he said.

However, according to some philosophy, jewellery is often associated with treasure-gold, gemstones, valuable materials-and is considered to be objects of intrinsic beauty, though the early beginnings were very different.

In prehistoric times, long before humans worked metals, jewellery was made of non-precious materials. Burials of 30,000 BC in Europe show that at the time people used local materials available to them, such as shells and pebbles, and, in hunting societies, also animal teeth and claws, to make jewellery.

Existing examples reveal that pieces were engraved with intricate geometric patterns and, later, zoomorphic images. Thus, jewellery was an early form of decorative art. The study of some primitive cultures gives evidence that organic materials, which have since disintegrated, would have also undoubtedly been utilised in the past.

It was not until a later stage of human development that people chose precious and possibly scarce materials from far-away for jewellery.

A visit to Mystique Jewels one of their jewellery stores will be worthwhile as we have over a hundred different styles in just wedding sets and bands for women and men.