Day 39: Are rhinestones really diamonds?

When I was young, I always wanted some rhinestones on my clothes but never got them.  My mother told me they were too expensive for us and they were.  They were pretty but frivolous she said and they were.

Growing up poor, you have a tendency to evaluate the items you buy based on expensiveness rather than quality or at least I did.  The older I got, the more I pressed myself and then my family to purchase “the best of everything.”  What this usually resulted in was price over quality and a phenomenal waste of money. (Wish I had some of that cash back now…)

After shopping for my clothes and personal items in Walmart and BJ’s these days, I came to an important realization:  quality is not based on price and vice versa.  I heard a woman speaking to her adult son, asking him about some items in the men’s clothing section.  He clearly turned his nose up at the suggestion and was only along to take his elderly mother shopping (he was the transportation director for the moment).   I wanted so badly to intercede on her behalf and tell him that his mother was clearly right about this suggestion but of course it wasn’t my place to do so.

It’s a shame that we have such difficulty especially in our society for defining the difference between rhinestones and diamonds.  They both sparkle, they both make me feel special, and they are both, now, within my price range but what of that?  Just because you may have the money, does it mean the purchase is necessary or worth the “value”?

If you showed me a cubic zirconium and a real diamond to compare, I, the average person without any training, would not be able to tell you the difference if all things such as cut, size and setting were the same.  Would you know if I bought my Jones of New York clothing item at BJ’s or the anchor store?  Could you tell that the diamond earrings I am wearing are real… or are they?

Things are rarely what they seem to be in all aspects of life especially when glitter or sparkle is involved.  That being true, then I am choosing to be smart and elect quality over price; non-label over label (unless it’s on sale at BJ’s), and common sense over advertisement.  I prefer to sparkle on the inside right now, it lasts longer and is much prettier I assure you.

I think that I am finally growing up and I like that.  I am not embarrassed to hear my mother’s voice come out of my mouth and realize that she was right about a lot of things.  By the way, my new Mets t-shirt purchased at BJ’s has rhinestones on it, at last…