Jewellery is more than just an accessory—it’s an investment in style, quality, and something that lasts generations. However, with many designer brands offering both costume and fine jewellery, it can be tricky to determine which is worth your money. A lot of fashion houses such as Chanel, Hermes and Dior have 2-3 separate jewellery categories. Starting from the most accessible costume or fashion jewellery to fine jewellery and then to high jewellery.
What is Costume Jewellery?
What is costume/fashion jewellery? These pieces are considered entry pieces for a lot of people when they start to dabble in the designer world. Costume jewellery is created to style with the brand’s own apparel for a more cohesive and statement look — more of a fashion accessory than timeless jewellery. They are often quite bold and distinctive which reflects the brand’s style. They are usually priced at around USD 700, sometimes even over USD 1500 but they are made of non-precious metal, faux plastic pearls and glass. Unfortunately, these materials tarnish easily, lack durability, and may cause irritation for those with sensitive skin despite their steep price tag.
The only costume jewellery that we’d consider getting would be brooches and chain belts for accessorising because they wouldn’t directly touch the skin, and therefore would not cause any skin irritation.
What about fine jewellery then?
Fine Jewellery on the other hand indicates that the pieces are made of solid gold, usually 14k or 18k gold. With its high pure gold content, the piece is naturally hypoallergenic. Fine jewellery pieces are made to last and worn for years to come. Since fine jewellery is made with precious metals and gemstones, it would be reflected in the price as well. Fine Jewellery by these fashion houses are often 10 times the price of their costume jewellery and is rather dainty and more suited for everyday wear. With these bigger brands the markup is pretty high as expected, therefore if you are looking for fine jewellery pieces that you could wear for life, going to smaller independent brands like ours would give you more affordable options.
Our verdict
Costume jewellery may appeal to people for its bold designs and brand prestige, fine jewellery offers better value, quality, and personalisation. Choosing fine jewellery, especially from small jewellery brands like ours, ensures you’re investing in pieces that last a lifetime and can be tailored to your unique style. We are also able to provide more customisation in terms of the gemstone choices and lengths that cater to your liking, such as our double-sided pendant. We designed this necklace with a precious gemstone on each side of your choice to style with your everyday looks. Having two colour options makes the piece more versatile to style with and you don’t have to worry about the stone flipping over to the “ugly” side.
We recommend checking out our Elements Collection if you are looking for pieces to start building your fine jewellery collection!
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Double-Sided Pendant
Price range: HK$7 759 through HK$10 025 -
Element Stud
Price range: HK$1 482 through HK$4 533 -
Pearl Studs
Price range: HK$2 655 through HK$2 790 -
Totem Ring
Price range: HK$6 451 through HK$9 629
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