Your chance to shine: the gift of jewellery

Buying jewellery is a dangerous game. Pulling it off successfully is not easy, but the result can be overwhelmingly rewarding for both recipient and giver.

A good piece of jewellery is an emotional link between loved ones. The right ring or bracelet serves as a reminder of the giver, a portent of good luck and a physical expression of love and affection. Jewellery is powerful and intensely personal, which is why picking the right piece for somebody can inspire so much anxiety. And receiving an item that is not very you can be disheartening. It’s far too easy to get wrong.

The easiest and best way to get it right this Christmas is by a simple process of appraisal.

Spare a moment and think about what your significant other already wears. Take mental notes during conversations and try to remember if any hints have been dropped. Cast an eye over a jewellery box or tree, if you already have access (and only if you have access; to some, jewellery boxes are more personal than journals) and plan your purchase accordingly.

While everybody is different, there are four jewellery umbrellas under which one may take shelter.

Minimalist

If the person you're buying for favours clean lines and muted colours, they may well be a lover of minimalist jewellery. While most people assume that "minimal" means a total lack of adornment, in this case it is taken to symbolise simplicity and purity of design. An uncomplicated choker and chain combination (such as this Eddie Borgo piece) is understated but still ultra-modern. It can also be striking, as in the case of this Maria Dorai Raj cut-out cuff, available at Irish jewellery website Coldlilies.com.

Delicate

Delicate jewellery – that's tiny chains, minuscule filigrees and slim slivers of metal – needs careful handling (or at the very least, needs to give the impression of fragility). A long chain with a pendant is a classic delicate piece. Monica Vinader (available at Brown Thomas) offers chains in gold, silver and rose gold, to which you can add a personalised initial pendant of your choice. Elsewhere, choose thin bracelets with a dash of sparkle. Ted Baker does a nice, affordable bangle with diamante knot detail in a variety of metals, or look to Irish brand Willow and Clo for a slightly more bohemian, piled-on edge.

Vintage

Vintage-jewellery lovers don't necessarily shop second-hand to fulfil their needs, but if that is your wish, shop from a reputable dealer and do so in person. It's too easy to be led astray online when it comes to vintage. Instead, look to contemporary brands that incorporate vintage looks in to their work. Chupi Sweetman is probably the best-regarded jewellery designer in Ireland right now, and with good reason. Her work straddles both a modern and vintage, romantic feel, and her online shop offers gift-wrapping and free worldwide shipping.

Statement

The phrase "statement" in relation to fashion has become so overused that it is almost devoid of meaning, but for our purposes, "statement" just means "large". It's big, it's brash and, depending on the recipient's taste, more than a little quirky. Statement jewellery invites colour, so if your gift-giver has a diverse clothing colour palette, dial it up to 11 with this painterly perspex necklace from Tatty Devine. Paste jewels and big ribbons are also guaranteed attention-getters for those who are less partial to multicoloured accessories. If in doubt, look to Swedish chain COS for accessories that are eye-catching without being bombastic

Choosing the right piece is essentially a process of elimination. If your recipient hates silver, avoid it. If there is nary a chunky chain to be seen on their person, don’t take a risk by buying them something that the members of Run DMC would covet.

Disregard your own taste in jewellery; it’s not about you. Say the person of your dreams favours a single strand of pearls, but you think it’s a bit stuffy. Don’t buy them a directional necklace made of repurposed copper pipe offcuts just because you like it better. That’s just bad behaviour.