For many ladies, as well as for those men who are buying a gift for a lady, heart jewelry is a great choice, and for many good reasons: it is a “classy” piece of jewelry and has many variants to choose from (a heart brooch, heart charms, heart pendants, heart rings and a lot more); it is appropriate for all kinds of social occasions, from formal and business functions all the way through to casual outings and get-togethers; and it matches almost any type of outfit – including dinner party dresses and the “jeans and t-shirt” occasions.  For men, heart jewelry has the ability to send a romantic message which they may find hard to put into words.

So if you’ve decided to buy a piece of heart jewelry, where should you shop?  Here are a few options plus the pros and cons.

• First and most obviously, the local Mall, which almost inevitably contains a number of retail jewelers.  The big benefits of buying this way are that you can see the product right in front of you before you commit to purchase; more often than not you are able to return it if you wish to do so on reflection; and you should expect to have a wide choice.  The downside is that you must make the trip to the Mall, taking time and effort and battling with other shoppers if you can only go at peak times – and you may pay more than you would have to if you purchased via one of the other shopping options, unless the jeweler has discount offers available.

• A second source that is growing is popularity in the Internet.  Here you can probably find even more pieces of jewelry than you can see at the Mall, because the Internet is so large and seems to be constantly expanding.  You have the convenience of viewing at your leisure while sitting in the comfort of your home and you may find products cheaper than at the Mall, partly due to competition and partly due to lower overheads enjoyed by Internet sellers.  Also, many Internet businesses do not charge sales tax on out of state purchases.  But watch out for high and unexpected mailing charges and be aware that not everyone on the Internet is trustworthy.  Nevertheless, reputable merchants such as Overstock, Amazon or Things Remembered have excellent reputations for both low prices and sound business practices, even permitting returns in some cases.  And if you pay by credit card, you will have the Visa, American Express or Mastercard protection to fall back on in the case of quality or other problems.

• Then there is that Internet specialist, E-Bay: here you might find jewelry at auction and therefore possibly at lower prices than regular Internet merchants can offer, but take care to check out the rated reputation of the seller before bidding.  Pay by credit card and recognize that the risk of problems is higher than with some of the online merchants noted above.

• Craigslist is another Internet option, the benefit being that you can frequently find sellers in your local city on this very busy site and so they may be more easily accessible that on E-Bay.  There are many jewelry advertisements to review, but proceed with care in view of the relatively unregulated nature of this marketplace.  The incidence of scam artists taking advantage of innocent buyers, whether it’s for good or services, not particularly focused on jewelry, is on the increase – buyer beware!

So there you have just a few of the options – and there are more, of course, including classified advertisements in your local newspaper and specialist magazines that you can find in news stands and at your supermarket.  But decide which of these matches your preferences when you’re buying heart jewelry or other products, and enjoy your shopping!