Parisienne Bijoux

Paris and NYC are two very different, yet similarly urban cities. This can also be said in terms of jewelry trends. I would like to touch on two different aspects of differences: how woman in these two cities wear jewelry and the way it is sold and marketed. Although in both cities these trends depend on the person’s personality, age, and preferred brands, some distinct differences can be seen.

It terms of how woman in the two cities wear jewelry, Parisian woman seems to gravitate more to simple, classic, and limited jewelry while New York woman seems more experimental and tend to with the constantly changing trends. Parisian woman will either wear no jewelry or just one or two high-quality, staple pieces. They are more interested in quality and investment pieces than the lasted trend. On the other hand, woman in New York City seem more interested in following the latest trend, buying quantity over quality, and combining classic pieces with modern (sometimes “cheap”) pieces. This is also a challenge to pull off!

In terms of how jewelry is sold and marketed in each city, Paris focuses on boutiques, brands, and artisanal craftsmanship while New York focuses more on mass retailers, e-commerce, and specific styles (i.e., one can recognize J. Crew jewelry as different from Urban Outfitter’s jewelry). French stores do an excellent job of displaying and merchandising jewelry to make it look original and authentic. For example, a piece may be 10 euros or under but it is still displayed in a beautiful vintage box making it seem of higher quality and special. Parisians take pride in their jewelry from historical and iconic French brands such as Chanel, Cartier, and YSL. They have mastered the art of looking effortlessly glamorous and chic by wearing just one or two beautiful pieces of jewelry. On the other hand, New York looks to France for high-quality, luxury jewelry with stores like Chanel, Cartier, and YSL on the prominent 5^th Avenue row. Jewelry seems to be available everywhere, whereas in Paris it is typically sold in boutique specialty stores and not hidden between clothes, shoes, and other items. Woman experiment more with jewelry in New York but that also means that they buy more inexpensive, mass trend pieces that will not last them very long. Though neither city is better jewelry-wise nor are any two people the same, it seems here that simplicity and quality are the keys to looking effortlessly chic.