I have worn the same two necklaces for thirty years
I have worn the same two necklaces for thirty years. This is the one that finally joined them.
Six things a little turquoise necklace gets right that thirty years of jewelry boxes got wrong, written down by a customer, not a jeweler.
Nancy Whitaker · Customer · Florida · 5 min read
I am 67 and my everyday jewelry fits in one hand. My wedding ring, my watch, a gold chain from my husband and a little cross from my mother. Nothing new has made it into that rotation in years, and plenty has tried. Then one Sunday I spent the whole sermon looking at the neck of the woman in the pew in front of me, and three weeks later here I am, writing a letter about a necklace.
It is the Turquoise Necklace from Grace & Helen, a small shop that dresses women our age. I ordered it fully expecting it to look cheap when it arrived. It did not. I wrote to them to tell them why, and they asked if they could share my letter with other women. So here it is: the six things this one gets right.
Necklaces, if you have shopped for one lately, come in two piles. The first pile is costume jewelry made for somebody forty years younger, all shine and dangling pendants. The second pile is so thin and apologetic it might as well not be there at all.
Too much, or nothing. I stopped accepting that a woman has to choose, and this little necklace is the proof I was right.
The little turquoise people lean in to ask about
Between the small silver-toned beads sits one soft turquoise stone, with a few tiny ones either side. It is the sort of detail nobody sees across a room and everybody sees across a table. After church the first Sunday, two women I have known for twenty years asked me where I got it. People lean in, and then they ask. It looks like a piece with a story behind it, a trip out West, a gift, something you have had for years, not something off a rack.
The turquoise, up close. This is what people lean in to look at.
“Can't wear this without getting compliments. Already recommended Grace & Helen to five friends. It's my signature piece now.”
Diane S., BostonIt sits right with every neckline, so I stop fussing in the mirror
You know the routine. Necklace on, blouse on, necklace too high, necklace too low, necklace off again. With this one I make a small adjustment at the clasp, and it sits where it should, just above a round neck or nicely into an open collar. I look once in the mirror and I am done. At my age, five minutes back every morning is not nothing.
With my white blouse. One look in the mirror and out the door.
It goes with everything I own
Silver tones and a touch of turquoise are about the most forgiving combination there is. White blouse, denim shirt, navy cardigan, Sunday dress, next to my gold chain or on its own. I no longer stand at the closet wondering what goes with what. There is no outfit it argues with, and I have tested most of them.
Denim, navy, white. It has not met a blouse it does not like.
“My husband got me this for our 35th anniversary. It's elegant enough for special occasions but I wear it every day. Sometimes I catch myself looking at it and smiling.”
Margaret L., CharlestonThe earrings come with it, so I look finished without trying
This is the one that surprised me. With the set, the matching drop earrings, same beads, same stone, are in the box. Necklace alone on an ordinary Tuesday. Both together for church or lunch with the girls, and I look like a woman who planned her outfit, without having planned a thing. My daughter said I looked "put together." I will take it.
Their spot on my dresser, on the rare evening they are off.
I forget it is on, until someone compliments it
If you have given up necklaces because they pull at your neck and make themselves known all day, this is the opposite sort. It weighs next to nothing. By the second morning I had stopped noticing it, and the only reminder I get now is when somebody says something nice. At our age that is the highest compliment jewelry can be paid.
Lighter than it looks. You feel it more in your hand than on your neck.
A present that looks like I searched for weeks
I went back within two weeks and bought a second one for my sister's birthday, and I will tell you why. It arrives in a little green box, ready to hand over, and it looks like a gift somebody thought hard about, not a plastic pouch of costume jewelry. My sister called me the same evening. She has worn it to every family lunch since.
The morning mine arrived.
“Ordered matching pieces for me, my daughter, and granddaughter. All three generations love them.”
Carol J., NashvilleThe turquoise necklace, against the necklaces you have been buying
You can find a necklace for a few dollars almost anywhere. I know, because a drawer upstairs is full of them. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Shiny costume pieces made for somebody half your age
Heavy chains that pull at your neck
One length that never sits right
Earrings that never quite match
Forgotten in the drawer within a month
A quiet turquoise detail people lean in to look at
So light you forget it is on
Sits right with every neckline, no fussing
Matching earrings in the set, a finished look
The one that stays on
About the price
I will be straightforward about the price, because it was the thing that made me suspicious. The necklace on its own is $39.95. The set with the matching earrings is $49.95, and it was $149.95.
What I can tell you is that I have paid more than that for necklaces that went to the thrift store by Christmas, and this one has not been off in three weeks.
If you have wanted one small piece that goes on in the morning and simply stays, this is the one I would put on you myself.
Nancy
Turquoise Necklace
One soft turquoise stone between little silver-toned beads. The detail people lean in to ask about.
- One necklace, endless compliments
- Sits right with every neckline
- So light you forget it is on
Turquoise Necklace Set
Get the full look - the turquoise necklace plus matching earrings
- Perfectly matched, ready to wear
- Only $10 more than the necklace alone
- Wear together or style separately
