Everyone knows that, when it comes to gifts, there are three types of guys: the guy who’s really sweet, tries hard, and generally manages to get it right; the guy who’s really sweet, tried hard, and still fouls things up pretty often (but he’s cute and sweet so you try to forgive him); and the guy who just doesn’t try very hard at all, so you’re pretty excited when he gets you something more interesting than a toaster.

As chance would have it, most guys seem to be most like guy number 2—he tries to catch your hints, and he always puts a lot of thought and heart into your gifts, but a lot of times, he just misses one or two details that happen to be, well…CRUCIAL! But we all love him anyway.

Like any girl, you really, really want him to get you something good for Valentine’s day, if only because you can’t stand the hangdog look he gets when he sees that you don’t like his Valentine’s gift. So here’s a hint—online wish lists are your friend.

I know, I know, how much thought could a guy really have put into a gift if you’ve already told him what to get you? But, if the alternative is “Hangdog Harry” for two weeks after Valentine’s, it may be worth the compromise. I mean, after all, he at least needed to think about which items on your wish list he thought would mean the most to you. And, of course, while he’s looking at the things in your wish list, he may find other things that you would like too—so even guy number 1 (the guy who always knows just the right gift) can be helped by a wish list.

As you know, my favorite jewelry store is Pugster, and I think their wish list is pretty cool. You just click on the “Add to Wish” list button in the product description, and when you’re done you can email to whoever you want. To demonstrate, let me show you what’s on my Pugster Wish List for Prince Charming this year:
A couple of months ago, I started my first European beads bracelet, and boy, am I addicted! They’re just so cute! And they’re so easy to slip on and off and rearrange. And they’re good for, literally, any occasion. I can wear them to dinner with grandma, or to a dinner party, or anywhere, and people are always commenting on my bracelet.

I love how this charm bead sparkles, with its Austrian crystals.

Again, I love how this little red heart is surrounded by sparkling crystals. And a little bit of color is always welcome.

I like my earrings dangly, and these pink heart-shaped Murano glass earrings are just gorgeous. And the thing I love about Murano glass is that it’s so versatile—it can be dressy or casual, and it looks great either way.

If Prince Charming is really feeling nice this year, this is what he’ll get me! I love how delicate this pendant looks hanging from its shiny white sheer ribbon. And it’s perfect for the spaghetti strap dress I want to wear out on Valentines.

More Murano glass earrings—actually, I think these would be great for wearing to work, or out to lunch with a friend. Casual and fun.

Sterling silver is great for Valentine’s Day, and I love how this cute heart outline kind of hangs at an angle. And while CZ is no diamond, it looks just as good when your man doesn’t quite make the big bucks yet.

This ring is sooooo cute! I love how feminine it looks with the dangling heart charm. I think I’m going to get this for one of my best girlfriends (we’ve been friends since preschool), but I’ll be jealous if I don’t get one too.

I met a friend of mine for coffee last weekend, and she was wearing this incredibly cute clasp charm bracelet, with all kinds of cute little charms, so I’ve been thinking about starting a bracelet myself.

As you know, I love Italian charms, and these deluxe charms are a really fun way to make a classier Italian charm bracelet.

I know it’s kitschy, but something about Valentine’s Day brings out the third-grader in me. Remember making “Be Mine” cards out of construction paper? I sure do, but Italian charms are easier.

What else needs to be said? Well, besides “I love it!”

Recently my friend Julie announced she was getting married.  Of course I was over the moon.  Her fiancé is a great guy and it seems they’ve been together forever.  It was time!

A couple weeks later she called me up with a jewelry question.  All my friends know that I know a lot about jewelry (as I should).  Anyways, Julie wanted to know what kind of precious metal I thought she should get for her wedding ring.  Julie was torn.   On the one hand, she felt pressured to get a traditional yellow gold ring but on the other she’s always been a silver kind of girl.  This is true.  In all the years I’ve known her, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Julie wear gold jewelry.  Of course, Julie went on, sterling silver would be inappropriate.  She was disheartened.  She thought her hands were tied.  She thought she was going to be stuck with a yellow gold wedding ring.  Of course, I knew better.

Let me begin by saying that in my opinion, I don’t think anyone should feel pressured to buy any particular type of ring for their wedding ring.  In my opinion, if a couple wants to buy quarter machine rings to represent their eternal love then that’s what they should get.  That said, I thought it was worth mentioning to Julie that if she wanted a silver ring then she should get a silver ring.  Julie though, did not take to the idea.  Although she didn’t want a yellow gold ring, she did want to stick to some tradition.

Given all this information, I did have some suggestions.  Because it’s so hardy, I’ve always thought platinum is the way to go when buying a silvery-white metal.  However, platinum is pricey.  Both Julie and her husband to be work, but they are on a budget and let’s face it, weddings are expensive.  Taking all this into consideration, I suggested Julie choose a white gold ring. 

Now it’s not as though white gold is a new phenomena, but it’s really only been recently that people have been choosing white gold or platinum for wedding and engagement rings.  Thirty years ago it would have been a real rarity.  These days, even though white gold is becoming more popular, I still don’t think many people consider white gold straight away.  People have to be reminded about white gold.  Suffice to say, I reminded Julie about white gold.
  
Well Julie and her fiancé bought their white gold engagement rings and I’m delighted to say the white gold rings are beautiful!  Both Julie and her fiancée are thrilled.  They love the white gold.

I love platinum!

An elegant, rare and sturdy precious metal, platinum is an ideal metal for fine jewelry.

Platinum is corrosion and tarnish resistant making platinum jewelry beautiful for years. Because it’s hypoallergenic, platinum is also great for those with sensitivities. The natural pale patina of platinum makes it a wonderful setting for diamonds and gemstones as well. Platinum has a natural elegance which makes it a beautiful choice when there are no gemstones involved at all. Although you can buy many different grades of platinum, the purest platinum should be marked “950 Plat” or “950 Pt.”

Now there are some reasons why one would rather buy gold than platinum. First of all, platinum costs and weighs more than gold. Furthermore, although platinum provides a hardy setting for diamonds and gemstones, the strength of platinum itself makes resizing difficult. Nonetheless, platinum is sure to outlast other common precious metals available today.

Although I don’t have too much platinum jewelry, I do love the platinum I have. Unlike gold which is naturally soft and fragile, platinum is a hardy metal which can handle stress and strain and come out gleaming like the day it was made!