Most jewellery bought as a Christmas gift is worn twice and then put in a drawer. Usually that is because it is plated, or because it needed a size and the size was wrong.
This guide is built around the two things that avoid both problems: solid gold, and pieces that do not need sizing. Everything here is made to order in our Hatton Garden workshop, and it is split into two price bands so you can start from what you want to spend rather than scrolling past things you do not.
Under £500
This is where most Christmas gifts land, and it buys more than people expect once you stop paying for plating and a shop floor.
Coralie 9k gold stone set studs, £125. Small, solid gold, and plain enough that they get worn on a Tuesday rather than saved for something. If you are buying for someone who does not wear much jewellery, start here.
Brisa 9k gold gemstone studs, £125. The same weight and size, with a coloured stone instead.
Sabine 9k gold gemstone pendant, from £125, chain included. A single stone on a fine chain. It layers with whatever they already own rather than competing with it.
Aveline martini lab grown diamond studs, from £232.80. The martini setting holds the stone in three claws and sits close to the ear, so it does not catch on a jumper. Carat weights run up from there if you want more.
Solenne classic lab grown diamond studs, from £237.60. A four claw setting, which is the more traditional of the two.
Sanna 9k gold knot studs, £255, and Clara 9k gold gemstone studs, £255. Both are heavier than the £125 pairs, and both suit someone who already wears gold every day.
Lysa studs and the Serena 9k white gold chain necklace are both £385 and sit at the top of this band. A plain gold chain is the most used piece in most people's jewellery box, and it is the safest thing on this page to buy for someone whose taste you are still working out.
Everything we make under £500 is in one place in our gifts under £500 collection, and our guide to gifts under £500 goes through each price step in more detail.
Under £1,000
The step up here is real rather than cosmetic. You move into 18k gold, larger diamonds, and weights that survive daily wear for decades.
Mireille 18k white gold lab grown diamond pendant, from £515, and Calixta 18k white gold lab grown diamond pendant, £515. Each is a single diamond on a fine chain. These are what people choose when they want something that reads as fine jewellery without announcing itself.
Seren 18k gold lab grown diamond pendant, from £775, and Sarai 18k gold lab grown diamond pendant, £775. A larger stone than the two above, built on the same principle.
For someone who wears bracelets rather than necklaces, the Sora 9k gold rope bracelet and Stella 9k gold rope bracelet are both £515, and the Jannah 9k gold rope bracelet and Liebe 9k gold belcher bracelet are both £645.
Bangles sit at the top of the band. Milosc and Amy are both £775. A solid gold bangle needs no chain, no size and no maintenance, which makes it the piece on this page most likely to still be worn in twenty years.
The full range is in our gifts under £1,000 collection, and our guide to gifts under £1,000 covers chains and rings as well.
Why studs, pendants and bracelets, and not rings
A ring needs a size, and a size you guess at is a ring that spends January in a drawer waiting to be resized.
Studs, pendants, bracelets and bangles need nothing. They fit whoever you give them to. That is the whole reason this guide is built the way it is, and it is the single most useful thing we can tell you about buying jewellery for someone else.
If you are set on a ring, read our guide on how to buy jewellery as a gift, which covers reading the clues in what someone already wears.
Solid gold, and why we do not sell plated
Gold plating is a thin layer over a base metal. It wears through at the points that rub, which on a pendant is the back and on studs is the post. Once it goes, the piece looks worse than cheap jewellery that never pretended.
Everything on this page is solid gold, hallmarked at the London Assay Office. It does not wear through, it can be polished back, and in twenty years it is still gold.
Our guide to solid gold versus gold plated goes into the detail if you want it.
Order by 26 November
Everything is made to order and everyday pieces take two to three weeks in the workshop, then go out insured and tracked with next day UK delivery.
26 November is the last comfortable order date for Christmas. Later than that and we will tell you honestly whether it can be done rather than taking the money and hoping.
Some pieces are ready to ship and leave within one to two business days. If you are running late, email us before you order and we will tell you what is still possible.
Delivery and returns, plainly
UK delivery is £4.99, fully insured and tracked, by Royal Mail Special Delivery before 1pm the next working day. The courier will ask for a signature.
Everything goes out in plain packaging with nothing on the outer box that says what is inside or what it is worth, which matters if the gift is arriving at the recipient's own address.
You can also collect from Hatton Garden at no charge.
Made to order pieces can be returned within 14 days for store credit. Ready to ship pieces returned within 14 days are refunded to your original payment method under UK consumer law. Engraved and pierced pieces cannot be returned unless faulty, which we will say clearly before you order anything engraved.
Questions we get asked
Is the chain included with a pendant? Yes. The price is the piece and the chain together.
What fittings do the studs use? Most use a screw back or a butterfly fitting. Tell us if you have a preference.
Can I buy for a child? Yes. Our children's pieces are designed to be worn from around three years old and most use a screw back.
How long does it take? Everyday pieces two to three weeks. Engagement rings four to six weeks. Full bespoke six to eight weeks from sign off.
Do you gift wrap? Everything arrives boxed. Tell us at checkout if it is going straight to the recipient and we will leave the paperwork out.
Written by the Luma Jewellery team in Hatton Garden. Every piece is designed and made to order in London.