The best gift I ever got from my (now ex-) long-distance boyfriend was a sweatshirt he sprayed with his cologne.
It's not "special" like jewelry but it meant way more to me than any piece of jewelry he could have sent me. Just sayin'.
If you go the jewelry route get her something that she already wears. Is she a necklace girl? An earrings girls? A bracelet girl? A ring girl? (I know you said no rings but it that's the only jewelry she really wears...) Personally, I'm an earrings and necklace girl; if my boyfriend gave me a bracelet I would never ever wear it because I just don't wear bracelets. Keep that in mind when buying jewelry for her - what does she already wear?
Also, if she's an earrings girl, think about things like does she have multiple piercings? (i.e. two in each ear) If so, you could get her small gemstone studs for the upper piercings that she likely won't change out that often (I haven't changed my upper earrings for over five years because the earrings in them are sentimental). Or you could get her studs for her single piercings. If you get her dangley earrings, will she leave them in all the time? If so, make sure they are not so dangely that they'll tangle in her hair, and make sure they have a clasp that closes, not just a shepherds hooks that could fall out. Obviously, these aren't considerations if she frequently changes her earrings or is okay with taking them out every night and putting them in every morning. Not to be exclusionary, does she have any other piercings that you could buy a special piece for? Nose? Lip? Tongue? Eyebrow? Cartilage? Tragus? Somewhere... else? Does she gauge or are standard studs or hooks the way to go? And this kind of consideration can be extended to other types of jewelry.
Oh, and make sure you get the pieces in a metal she's not allergic to; most people are okay with the metals nice jewelry stores sell, but some people are allergic to gold, and some people are allergic to a certain type of metal in only certain places - my mom can't wear gold necklaces but can wear gold rings because the sensitivity of her skin is different between her neck and her hands. Talk to the jeweler about the least-reactive metals that you can afford for the piece you're thinking of buying, better to be safe than sorry.
As for style of jewelry, again it comes back to what she already wears. Does she wear cubic zirconia in the hopes of one day having a special gemstone piece? Maybe you could buy her her first "upgrade." Does she wear pieces with stones (as in polished rock, not gemstones) or beads? Or does she wear pendants on chains? Does she wear delicate pieces? Big chunky pieces? Costume jewelry? Simple designs? Elaborate designs? You say she likes contemporary styles, does that mean contemporary-traditional or contemporary-non-traditional? Think about where, when and how often you want her to wear what you get her. The less-often you imagine her wearing it the more extravagant and impractical the piece can be; the more-often you want her to wear it, the more comfortable, and versatile it needs to be.
While I agree with other posters that a string of pearls might be a good thing to get, make sure she likes pearls and that a sting of pearls is within the range of jewelry she would wear. I'm a jeans and tee shirts girl and I own a string of pearls - but I never wear them. I'm into metals and funky statement pieces. It's not that I don't like the pearls, it's that they don't have character so I never want to wear them.
With all that being said, if you skype with her, start scoping her out for the kinds of jewelry she's wearing when she's talking to you. Go check out her facebook photos to see what she's wearing and to what kinds of occasions. Basically, start a covert intelligence-gathering mission with your aim being to discern the best piece of jewelry to buy her.
And good luck.
It's not "special" like jewelry but it meant way more to me than any piece of jewelry he could have sent me. Just sayin'.
If you go the jewelry route get her something that she already wears. Is she a necklace girl? An earrings girls? A bracelet girl? A ring girl? (I know you said no rings but it that's the only jewelry she really wears...) Personally, I'm an earrings and necklace girl; if my boyfriend gave me a bracelet I would never ever wear it because I just don't wear bracelets. Keep that in mind when buying jewelry for her - what does she already wear?
Also, if she's an earrings girl, think about things like does she have multiple piercings? (i.e. two in each ear) If so, you could get her small gemstone studs for the upper piercings that she likely won't change out that often (I haven't changed my upper earrings for over five years because the earrings in them are sentimental). Or you could get her studs for her single piercings. If you get her dangley earrings, will she leave them in all the time? If so, make sure they are not so dangely that they'll tangle in her hair, and make sure they have a clasp that closes, not just a shepherds hooks that could fall out. Obviously, these aren't considerations if she frequently changes her earrings or is okay with taking them out every night and putting them in every morning. Not to be exclusionary, does she have any other piercings that you could buy a special piece for? Nose? Lip? Tongue? Eyebrow? Cartilage? Tragus? Somewhere... else? Does she gauge or are standard studs or hooks the way to go? And this kind of consideration can be extended to other types of jewelry.
Oh, and make sure you get the pieces in a metal she's not allergic to; most people are okay with the metals nice jewelry stores sell, but some people are allergic to gold, and some people are allergic to a certain type of metal in only certain places - my mom can't wear gold necklaces but can wear gold rings because the sensitivity of her skin is different between her neck and her hands. Talk to the jeweler about the least-reactive metals that you can afford for the piece you're thinking of buying, better to be safe than sorry.
As for style of jewelry, again it comes back to what she already wears. Does she wear cubic zirconia in the hopes of one day having a special gemstone piece? Maybe you could buy her her first "upgrade." Does she wear pieces with stones (as in polished rock, not gemstones) or beads? Or does she wear pendants on chains? Does she wear delicate pieces? Big chunky pieces? Costume jewelry? Simple designs? Elaborate designs? You say she likes contemporary styles, does that mean contemporary-traditional or contemporary-non-traditional? Think about where, when and how often you want her to wear what you get her. The less-often you imagine her wearing it the more extravagant and impractical the piece can be; the more-often you want her to wear it, the more comfortable, and versatile it needs to be.
While I agree with other posters that a string of pearls might be a good thing to get, make sure she likes pearls and that a sting of pearls is within the range of jewelry she would wear. I'm a jeans and tee shirts girl and I own a string of pearls - but I never wear them. I'm into metals and funky statement pieces. It's not that I don't like the pearls, it's that they don't have character so I never want to wear them.
With all that being said, if you skype with her, start scoping her out for the kinds of jewelry she's wearing when she's talking to you. Go check out her facebook photos to see what she's wearing and to what kinds of occasions. Basically, start a covert intelligence-gathering mission with your aim being to discern the best piece of jewelry to buy her.
And good luck.
Teenaged X-Files obsession + Bermuda Triangle episode + Self-led school research project = Atheist.
