Golden Jewels

    One of the biggest trends this Spring is brightly colored accent pieces and among the season's hottest colors is golden yellow.  As a frequent wearer of statement jewelry and bright colors, I am naturally a fan of this trend.  A couple of weeks ago I purchased two golden yellow necklaces from Etsy.com (www.etsy.com).  Both pieces were handmade by a seller in China called Fashion of the World.  Each necklace was extremely affordable, costing less than $20 a piece, and they shipped on the same day I ordered them.  Shipping for the first item was free and just $5.99 for the second item.  To my surprise, the necklaces arrived yesterday, five days sooner than expected (the seller indicated it would take 15 days for them to arrive).  As promised, I am now providing my feedback on the purchase of these golden jewels.

   The first piece I ordered was the Olivia Bib necklace.  Of the two pieces, this necklace was my first choice.  (I ordered the second one only because it was hard to tell just by looking at them online which I would like more).  I am happy to report that in person the Olivia Bib necklace appeared exactly as it was pictured online.  Thus, I was completely satisfied my purchase.  I even wore it to brunch today with a pair of golden tear drop earrings and a woven yellow bracelet.  I received several compliments on the necklace, which I used to accessorize a simple a white blazer, black tank top, and pair of blue skinny jeans.

     Unfortunately, I was not as satisfied with the second piece, which was the Bubble Bib statement necklace.  What immediately drew me to the necklace was it's unique bib concept-  it was unlike anything I had ever seen.  I also loved the chandelier or cascading effect of the necklace.  Per the seller's description, the necklace measured 28 inches in length and was suitable for wearing to a wedding or holiday party.  Based upon this description, I anticipated the necklace to be a delicate and elegant piece. What I actually received, however, was anything but demure.
    The necklace did not appear anything like the piece of jewelry that was pictured online.  For starters, it was much too long.  While I never measured out 28 inches, I assumed the necklace length would be adjustable to fit someone of my size.  This is because the seller posted a picture of a model, who looked to be about my size, wearing the necklace and it fit her beautifully.  Although the necklace fit her small and thin neck well, on me it was oversized and bulky.  In addition, the additional 4 inches that the chain added to the necklace caused it to fall too low on my neck.  I tried to shorten the necklace by connecting the clasp higher up on the chain, but as I did so the whole necklace became uneven, preventing it from laying centered on my neck. The higher up I pulled the necklace the more crooked it became.
    Since I was not completely satisfied with my purchase and because the seller endorsed customer feedback I decided to send him a message, requesting a refund and inquiring how to return the item.  Within a couple of hours I received his response wherein he apologized for the item not meeting my expectations.  He also told me that I could keep the necklace, even though he would provide me with a full refund.
    Despite not being satisfied with my entire order, I would rate my overall Etsy experience as a 9 out of 10.  I used a seller who had received 100% positive feedback from his customers and in my opinion he honored his promise of complete customer satisfaction.  Therefore, I would highly recommend the site and will continue to use it for my jewelry buying needs in the future.  Note: If golden jewels are not your thing, both necklaces come in a variety of other colors including mint, turquoise, orange, pink, purple, black, white and red.  Here's the link to Fashion of the World's page: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Fashionofworld?ref=seller_info

Happy Shopping!