Big Smiles Come in Small Packages

If you're a child of the 90's, you might remember a Sanrio store in your local mall. "Small gift, big smile" was printed on their bags and loyalty cards and I always found it very charming and truthful. The smallest thing, if beautifully designed and thoughtfully presented, can make a big impact and bring a smile to someone's face even if it's not very expensive! With the rise of the internet, I feel like beautiful objects are everywhere you turn. With Google, Amazon and e-commerce retailers creating a virtual paradise of comparison shopping possibilities, it isn't hard to find attractive, good quality and decently priced goods. However finding the right item is only half the battle! Presentation is key! There's nothing like the mystery of the unmarked box, the promise of hidden delights that a carefully tied bow evokes. Retailers are savvy to this, which is why they invest billions into branding and packaging. 

I've spoken before about my love of ordering from Dior.com due to the gorgeous way their items come packed in substantial white boxes with beautiful ribbons and carefully pleated tissue paper. Even the smallest item is beautifully wrapped and presented, so that each package looks just like a present even if you're purchasing "just" for yourself! Tiffany & Co. is another company that lovingly wraps everything purchased from their store, no matter how small. And of course everyone knows the Tiffany blue box, which in my opinion is the gold standard of prestige branding in terms of packaging. The specific shade of blue is so iconic that Tiffany's has trademarked their specific "robin's egg blue" for boxes and bags. So after all this epic intro, what did I get? :) 

The story actually begins before this purchase. At the end of 2017 I bought the Return to Tiffany Heart Key Pendant necklace with the Rubedo key. It was gorgeous, I loved it, and immediately started wearing it. However, it didn't take me long to realize that due to the way the heart tag is just strung directly on the chain without an extra jump ring, when you're wearing it the heart tends to flip back and forth. Sometimes it's facing the right way out, sometimes the wrong way. 

For a while this didn't bother me too much, but then I started thinking how easy it would be to correct the "problem" by simply adding a silver jump ring to the heart tag that the chain could thread through; it would keep the heart always facing the correct way forward, and it wouldn't be a permanent alteration of the piece unless I chose to take the necklace to a jeweler to solder the jump ring closed. So I started looking at solid sterling silver jump rings on ebay, etsy, and other jewelry supply websites. It's not a complicated item at all, and I found tons of options. It seemed like  I would be paying at about $15-$20 (after shipping costs) to get what I was after.

And then it occurred to me to check with Tiffany before buying anything else. After all, Tiffany sells charms for their famous silver bracelets, and charms need jump rings to attach to those bracelets! So I browsed through Tiffany's sterling silver offerings (sorted by price, low to high!) but didn't see anything like what I was looking for. Undaunted, I decided to try their search bar and typed in "jump ring" and voila! I found what they call a Clasping Link and it was basically exactly what I was looking for. Even better actually, because it's not a simple hoop of silver that I'd have to use pliers to get it onto my necklace; the clasping link is actually a tiny little clasp, with a spring mechanism and everything. Pretty much perfect for my purpose, and best of all, only $20! Tiffany's does free shipping even on the smallest of items, so without hesitation I placed my order right away. A few days later, a beautifully wrapped little blue box showed up a my doorstep.

Despite the humble nature of my purchase, it was packaged in a Tiffany blue pouch and box, and tied with a satin white bow just like a bigger ticket item. It even included a little silver care card as well as a blank message card and envelope in case this was a gift for someone else! Too adorable. I immediately put the clasping link on my necklace and it was exactly what I hope it would be. It was  easy to clip on and off but very secure once on and in my opinion, unlikely to fall off or somehow unclip itself. After all, this item is meant to attach charms to bracelets, which are a much more dynamic piece of jewelry than a necklace and generally see more movement. If the Clasping Link is safe enough to secure a $300 charm to a bracelet that's moving around constantly and rubbing against things, I'm confident it'll be secure enough to keep my necklace together. :) And if I ever want to use this Tiffany chain for a different charm or pendant, it'll be easy peasy to switch it out! I consider this a very successful purchase and excellent value for money.

**This post is not sponsored in any way. The links are provided for informational purposes only and do not earn me a commission. **