Year after year we see celebrities wearing millions of dollars worth of diamonds on awards shows. With the same celebrity wearing different jewelry for each show, many people begin to wonder how even a celebrity can afford that much jewelry. The truth of the matter is that the jewelry on awards shows is almost always on loan from designers. Looking to cash in on the temporary jewelry market, many companies rent out jewelry for special events. While this is becoming a lucrative market, the question remains of whether it is a beneficial service or just a temporary fad.Companies have rented jewelry to television and movie wardrobes for years. The same applies for charity benefits and awards shows where high profile individuals need jewelry for only a night. These companies are quite reputable and do a good deal of business. Now, however, there are businesses cropping up all over the Internet that promise to rent the latest in designer jewelry for a moderate monthly fee.

These businesses operate much like online movie rental companies. Subscribers to the services pay a monthly rental fee and are granted a certain number of pieces at a time according to their rate plan. Higher plans can allow more jewelry at a time or higher end jewelry. Users take full responsibility for any jewelry that is lost or damaged while rented to them.

The plans at these companies range from $40 a month per piece to $600 per piece and more, depending on the value of the piece. While the idea of renting jewelry seems tailor made for such events as weddings and parties, monthly plans seem almost frivolous. Most people who can afford to wear designer jewelry to every event of the year can often afford to purchase it, and economically it simply makes more sense to purchase a piece you really enjoy rather than to continue paying a monthly fee for jewelry you will never be able to keep.

With many people struggling to pay bills and purchase gas right now, it seems almost wasteful to rent jewelry at exorbitant prices when one can own beautiful jewelry for much less. The websites also tend to attempt to appeal to the fashion impaired, or those that know little about jewelry. Many of the sites do indeed offer designer names, but are offering designs that were popular many seasons ago or are no longer at the height of fashion. While not all companies are guilty of this, many of them seem to be determined to get money from people who strive to appear high-class.

All of that aside, however, and you are left with the fact that these businesses would not be in operation if there were not a market for the services. Most women long to have the queen for a day feeling. What many women fail to see, however, is that waiting a few months to rent that beautiful necklace and saving the money instead could enable them to buy the piece and feel like a queen whenever they wish.

Many companies, particularly jewelry rental companies that are locally owned or cater to a more personalized market, will rent jewelry for specific amounts of time. This means that you can rent a piece for a month or just for an evening. For people who truly feel that they must have a particular piece of jewelry now, it can be rented for an evening to wear to a big event without having to pay a high monthly fee that renews until cancelled whether you have a piece of jewelry out or not. This allows you to try out a piece or even a collection before deciding to purchase a high end piece of jewelry.

Jewelry rental certainly has its place in the world, but contrary to the hopes of many online monthly rental services that place is ultimately in wedding and costume rentals. Movies and television shows will always have a temporary need for exquisite jewelry pieces, as will award show and red carpet attendees. Outside of Hollywood and wedding parties, however, jewelry rentals are definitely more fad than fashion, and are bound to go the way of CD rental stores.

When it comes to obtaining designer jewelry, it is simply better to buy. By buying your jewelry, you are guaranteed the authenticity of the piece, and you know its history. This eliminates the chances of unseen damages or cheap and inefficient repair work having been done to the piece. It also means having something permanent to show for your money, which in current economic times is becoming more important than it ever has been. If you are preparing for a role or perhaps for one of the biggest days of your life, rent away. Otherwise, take a trip to your favorite jewelry store and find something that a month from now will still exist in your jewelry box, instead of just in your memory.