When I wrote my review on the Cartier Juste Un Clou ring, I thought that ring wasn’t all that. And I thought that was a one off. So I had high high hopes for my next Cartier purchase. So what did I think? Is the Cartier Love ring worth it to me?
That would be a big NOPE. I have actually never encountered a Cartier piece that was more unworthy of its price tag than the Cartier Love ring. IMHO you are 100% paying for the name on that one.
Tried stacking it here with my Chaumet ring, and Quince thin bands stack
First off I decided to try out the Love ring thanks to the influence of Maggyxchuu on YouTube. She had talked about how she wanted to stack the Juste Un Clou ring with the Love ring. And since I already had the former, I decided to get the latter with some RealReal credit that was sitting in my account. So I ended up getting the small Love ring in white gold for about $450 out of pocket. Not a bad price when you consider the current retail price of $1250. But my total cost including the credit, of about a little over $1000, is still more than the cost of its weight in gold (I looked it up and if I’m being generous it’s about $700 but probably closer to $600). I didn’t love it, and I returned it to use my credit on something else.
Some people might think the Cartier Love bracelet (reviewed here) not worth it since it’s such a simple design. However the weight of it and how it’s worn over time (at least for me) has proven to me it’s worth it. So I thought it would be the same for the ring. However the ring, especially the small version, is quite thin. I have Quince rings that are the same weight, just without the branding and prestige (and the price tag). At least the bracelet has some kind of mechanism (on the small it’s the hinge and screw) but the ring is just a ring.
P.S. My new-to-me vintage octagon Santos watch has redeemed Cartier from my last two misses
I also noticed that the four year old white gold ring that I got has darkened with use. This seems to hold true with much of Cartier’s white gold. My trinity ring also has the same darkened tone, which TBH looks great to me when it’s part of the trinity. It has a patina which I like in a vintage ring. However when I stack the Love ring with my one year old Juste Un Clou ring it doesn’t look great. In fact, I think stacking the Juste Un Clou with my pave diamond ring from Quince actually looks better (photo above).
As a long-time luxury buyer, I’ve accepted paying higher prices for the presumed higher quality (when in reality you’re paying mostly for the name). But IMHO I have yet to see a piece of jewelry from Cartier less “worth it” than their small Love ring.