The Perfect Gift For That Special Someone

Having trouble coming up with the perfect gift for that special woman in your life? Whether it's for your wife, your girlfriend or your sister, shopping for women can be a challenge. But one gift that never goes unappreciated and is considerably more personal than a gift card is a charm from Tiffany's.

Tiffany's hand crafted charms come in a huge variety of styles and mediums, although gold and silver are the most popular. They are sorted in groups and collections, such as "Love" which consists of hearts and the word love in many variations; "Tiffany Locks" which has little heart padlocks; and "Travel & Hobbies" which includes some of my favorites ---a little silver and Tiffany blue convertible, an 18k gold and diamond camera, a sterling silver Eiffel tower, and a silver and blue enamel Scooter.

All in all there are close to three hundred different charms to choose from. Some of the high end charms even have moving parts, such as lids that open and close. The charms can also be engraved, either by machine or if for a little extra by the hands of a skilled engraver, with the recipient's initials, to allow for even more customization. Charm prices range from $65 for basic sterling silver discs to over $8,000 for two of Jean Schlumberger's designs.

If you do a Google search for Tiffany charms, you will get over 7 million hits. However, know that the vast majority of those sites do NOT sell authentic Tiffany charms. Tiffany's do not have an outlet, nor do their charms ever go on sale, so stay away from sites that mention anything along those lines. Also watch for "Tiffany style" or "Tiffany inspired" ---again, not the real thing. The safest places to shop are either at a Tiffany store or on their website. Sure, it's tempting when you see one of the high end charms for half the price, but if you want a true Tiffany charm, or if you're giving one as a gift, don't fall for it.

Tiffany's charms are admittedly on the pricey side, and few of us are able to stroll in and impulse buys an entire bracelet, but I think collecting them slowly over the years is part of the fun. And as your tastes and likes change, so will your bracelet. If you build it up over a period of 10 years, it will become a little memoir on your wrist. And a valuable one to boot!

Camilla Hughes blogs at Charms Guide where she covers all aspects of charms and talks about her favorite designers, such as Pandora, Tiffany Co Thomas Sabo, Camilla and others.