The other day, my mother told me about this book called The Necklace, which follows the story of thirteen women who buy a diamond necklace to share – they couldn’t afford it individually – and find that their perception of value and luxury changes drastically.
The concept is provocative; enjoying the glamour and fun of a diamond necklace at a drastically lower price, and bonding in the process. Sign me up.
I think it would be amazing to go in with your best friends on something like Goyard Luggage, or a Rick Owens fur, or a Nina Ricci gown. In short, something super expensive that you wouldn’t use everyday, and thus wouldn’t miss.
But Natalie went straight to the practicality factor: What if one person loses it? Or breaks it? Or you all want to use it at the same time?
But realistically, just like a timeshare, if someone did lose the item then I suppose they would be responsible to pay everyone back, just like if you borrowed anything from your friend and broke it. Here at least, you have the innate trust that it belongs to you all.
Plus, there’s the fun factor, as Britt called it, a sort of “sisterhood of the traveling necklace”. But she also thinks it complicates what should be a very simple process – getting dressed – with issues like timing, calling, e-mailing, texting, etc, which adds too much time to something that may already take some people half the morning.
This all seems very green, and fun and exciting to me (not to mention a potentially genius solution to everyone’s dwindling shopping funds), but what about you guys?
Could you deal with part ownership of a bracelet the same way you could for a private jet?
–BRETT KANE