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Even after collecting jewelry for the past decade, I still find that buying fine jewelry online isn’t always easy. There are karats and carats to think about. The all-time-high price of gold now isn’t helping matters, either — an item you spotted months ago currently might go for more than you remember. All that said, if you can make the investment, fine jewelry — which means pieces made from gold, silver, or platinum, some of which include gemstones and pearls — is something that’ll last a lifetime or longer (and will almost certainly make a much-appreciated Valentine’s Day gift). While a lot of fine pieces come with a four-figure-plus price tag, you don’t actually have to spend a fortune. I went on the hunt for the best necklaces, bracelets, and earrings under $500 from everywhere I could think of — including places we’ve written about, have been recommended to me, or that I’ve personally shopped at before. I searched for unusually special pieces, including earrings that are “loose interpretation of toy jacks” and a toothbrush with surprisingly hyperrealistic bristles. And if you’re looking for more jewelry, we have guides to the best hoops and studs, too.
Under $100
For horse girls, spaghetti-western watchers, or proud Texans.
A part of Catbird’s second collection with the Met, this plum is picked from the still life Fruit and Flowers by Italian nun Orsola Maddalena Caccia.
To sit in the middle of a stack of Sweet Nothing and Threadbare rings.
There’s something Art Deco about the lines in this signet ring.
Because it’s an open hoop huggie, there’s no butterfly back to lose.
In the words of antiques dealer Erica Weiner: Wwake’s earrings are “between architectural, mathematically precise geometry and riotous organic forms.” This stud, for example, takes inspiration from the slow movements of a seed pod.
These naturally occurring gold nuggets (found where rock erosions are common like rivers, streams, and channels) can be anywhere from 16 to 23 karats on the purity scale and they’re mounted on a 14-karat post.
Under $200
You can only find larimar in the Dominican Republic.
Unsurprisingly, the sequin is super-sparkly, says fellow Strategist writer Dominique Pariso.
Instead of another solitaire, there’s a pavé diamond disc at Quince, of all places.
Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette would’ve had one around her neck in a scene with Ladurée pastries and Manolo Blahnik mules.
A maritime history lesson: Some superstitious sailors wore their mariner chains while out at sea. (Maybe take yours to Nantucket next time.)
The font is based on old Plaza Hotel room numbers Lulu Frost’s Lisa Salzer found.
It’s a fitting tribute to real New Yorkers, the city pigeons.
Described as a “thin slip of solid gold,” it’s for those who believe less is more.
You can always tell a Ted Muehling original, whether it’s a rice kernel or berries made from amethyst, chrysoprase, turquoise, carnelian, citrine, and chalcedony.
Gabriella Kiss was once Muehling’s apprentice, a fact that becomes apparent from her ebony pinecones, carnelian pears, or the sterling-silver acorns shown here.
And a calla lily you don’t have to water from the queen of flowers, Laurie Fleming.
If you don’t want to wait for a preorder of Kimberly Doyle’s Gemagotchis, there’s always her ready-to-ship Light line featuring her signature Infinite Light studs.
Under $300
Paula Elaine Barnett uses recycled metals from a refinery in Louisiana to make things like crowns for your fingers. These are delivered in mostly compostable packaging, too.
As seen on my editor Hilary Reid, a Ten Thousand Things mini split-heart charm in turquoise. (It’s available in lapis lazuli and labradorite, too, and can be worn on a chain or clipped onto a charm bracelet.)
You can tell the influence of ancient relics in Ochre Objects’s line. This seed, featuring a single white diamond, feels like it belongs on the bust of a Roman matron.
What White/Space does well is twists on the classics, like this rope of baroque pearls that your pearl-clutching grandmother couldn’t frown at.
Before the familiar brilliant cut, there was the rose cut that dates back to the 16th century. And rarer still is a rose-cut pink sapphire.
My mom has this forked-tongued, diamond-marked snake slithering through her left ear’s first, second, and third piercings.
If you want something sculptural, you need something from M.Hisai. This version of its Catori stud features a bezel-set, recycled gray diamond.
The mind behind sapphire-studded UFOs and emerald-eyed alien worry dolls, Sofia Zakia, came up with these diamond-tailed bunnies on the moon.
It’s a hoop you might miss on the first glance, but definitely not on a second.
Under $400
Come to think of it, you’re getting two signets for the price of one.
The Persian cat’s face is modeled after designer Collette Ishimaya’s pet Ponyo.
Think of Spinelli Kilcollin’s ring as the priciest fidget spinner around. The sterling-silver bands are looped together to be worn all on one finger or across three fingers.
The freshwater pearls are strung on a silk string so they won’t rub against each other.
I haven’t heard of this technique before: The oxidized sterling silver in Sarah McGuire’s cuff is fused with 18-karat yellow gold. It reminds me of a Klimt painting.
The small-batch charms from Fare Well Fine sell out as soon as they’re on the site. They’re often weighty (unlike other lines, the pieces’ gram weight are listed) and chunky.
Most of my antiques are from Fox & Bond: a horseshoe, another horseshoe, a four-leaf clover. This toothbrush, with surprisingly hyperrealistic bristles, is on my wish list.
Apparently, the sorcerer’s stone was a rainbow moonstone all along.
To be put in the piercing you wanted as a teen and are getting now in a late rebellion.
These are a “loose interpretation of toy jacks.” If you stare at the spokes long enough, you’ll get it.
Under $500
I wouldn’t have thought to put black diamond slices and faceted abalone together, and I’m now wondering why there’s not more of the combination out in the jewelry world.
This is the tiniest rendition of Anthony Lent’s Man in the Moon.
I’m reminded of Rapunzel’s strands of hair in the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales.
Bittersweets’ breakfast plate includes 14-karat rose-gold bacon with 14-karat white-gold sunny-side up eggs with yellow rose-cut diamonds. You could get the bacon or the eggs in a separate bill (they’re sold separately at $138 and $298, respectively).
It’s not every day you see a green amethyst (well, this one’s more blue …).
Supposedly, the itty-bitty diamond ring is inspired by a ring that designer Susan Highsmith procured for a childhood crush.
There are 12 turquoise cabochons on the horseshoe that might’ve been a stickpin during Queen Victoria’s reign.
A.M. Thorne interpreted the curve of a finger into the very architectural Arc ring.
A neat diamond lapel pin for those who wouldn’t be caught without a pocket square.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
