IMITATION JEWELLERY.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 September 1931, Page 13

IMITATION JEWELLERY.

MONEY FOR BETTER USE. “When the old-fashioned and the conservative deplore the modern girl’s love for imitation pearls and sham diamonds,” said a big manufacturer of modern ornaments, “they entirely overlook the fact that the money which at one time was expended on jewels is now being diverted to far more useful ends.” When the girl of to-day becomes engaged, she says to her fiance: “Now don’t go and ‘blue’ a lot on an expensive diamond engagement ring! A pretty bauble in French paste will do quite nicely. And we can put the difference towards paying the deposit on the little house.” Is not that a good deal wiser than “cutting a dash” with the ring? And so it goes all along the line. In the 19th century the average husband deemed it incumbent upon him to mark each stage in his financial progress by bestowing a handsome jewel On his wife. To-day, the wife prefers to' spend a 'pound-note on a crystal chain jof the fashionable length, and a few shillings on imitation pearls strung according to the mode of the moment. So her husband can afford to exchange his old car for a. new-season’s model, or 'to plan a garage in the back-garden. And his wife really likes it better that way. She would only regard, costly jewels as a bit of a worry and a liability. It would cost a lot, too, to insure them, she thinks. And she hates piling up the insurance costs. When you are inclined to criticise make-believe jewels, remember that behind them lies an important psychological issue.