Associate Editor Lenore Fedow tested out the jewelry rental platform’s subscription service. Here’s what she thought.
After being gifted a three-month trial membership, Associate Editor Lenore Fedow tested out Rocksbox, a jewelry rental subscription service. Below, she shares her thoughts about the service and jewelry rental in general.
One of the most amazing perks of my job is all the beautiful jewelry I get to wear, if only for a moment. I often daydream about some of the gorgeous gems that have graced my wrists and fingers.
The worst part of my job is handing the jewelry back, knowing I could sell everything I own and still not have enough to make some of these pieces mine.
I have a beautiful personal jewelry collection, consisting of pieces that are priceless to me, but I like to switch up my look now and then. My bank account likes that a little less.
Jewelry rental was an intriguing option, especially after I hosted a webinar with Gina Gorman, the vice president of marketing at jewelry rental service Rocksbox, which Signet Jewelers acquired this past spring.
Following our discussion, Gorman kindly sent me a code to test out Rocksbox for free for three months.
Sensing the start of a great opinion piece, I accepted and signed up for the service. Here’s how it went.
Signing Up
Rocksbox allows subscribers to rent different pieces of jewelry every month, swapping out their picks for something new the following month or buying the pieces.
For $21 per month, subscribers can rent up to three pieces for as long as they like and choose to purchase them at a discounted price any time during the rental period. The $21 can be used as a credit toward the purchase.
The sign-up process was straightforward.
After sharing my basic details and credit card information, I took a quiz to set up my style profile, answering questions about the type of jewelry I wear, metal preferences, the styles I like, and my ring size.
I particularly appreciated getting asked about the type of jewelry I wear, since I save bracelets for special occasions only. The tap of them against my desk as I type drives me up the wall, not to mention the scratches.
Based on my answers, Rocksbox selected the three pieces pictured below for me.
The choices didn’t quite fit my style, save for the minimalist ring in the center. I’m not a huge fan of pavé and I’m too superstitious for opal earrings.
However, you can preview your set and swap out pieces you don’t like.
Rocksbox tells you how long you have to make new choices and sends an email reminder as well.
So, I browsed Rocksbox’s collection, adding pieces to my wishlist, which is a collection of your favorites.
There are a lot of filters available when you’re searching, including by jewelry type and designer, or by category, like “celestial and spiritual” and “gender fluid.”
I also received a $5 permanent credit for adding 30 pieces to my wishlist.
I picked out my first pieces and waited for my box.
These were my picks for the first delivery of Rocksbox rental jewelry.
As I impatiently monitored my tracking number, I saw I only had a handful of days left to use my monthly credit, which seemed odd since I had just signed up.
I will share a word to the wise here—sign up and pick your pieces at the beginning of the month, not the end like I did. The Rocksbox rental cycle ends at the end of the calendar month, regardless of when you sign up.
I signed up and placed my order on Sept. 23. Following a delay with USPS, I received my first box the night of Sept. 30.
I hadn’t even tried any of the pieces on yet and my credit was set to expire the next day.
During my complimentary trial membership, I returned all of the jewelry and did not use any of the credit gifted to me, but for a regular customer, I imagine this would be frustrating.
On to the jewelry!
My First Box
One of modern life’s simple pleasures is having a package waiting for you when you get home.
My Rocksbox order came in a cute box, with my jewelry picks wrapped up neatly inside individual drawstring bags.
I chose an 18-karat gold-plated over silver pendant necklace by Luv AJ x Rocksbox, a pair of 18-karat gold-plated over silver hoops from Rocksbox’s demi-fine collection, and the “Ainsley” ring in gold over brass by Aster.
The necklace was one of the priciest options available, but it wasn’t my favorite. The look of it, perhaps because of the crystal in the center, struck me as costume jewelry, despite it technically being demi-fine.
I enjoyed wearing the ring and the simple gold hoops. As someone with sensitive ears, or “snob’s ear” as my mother lovingly called them, the earrings didn’t bother me at all.
All in all, I was happy with my jewelry choices.
The Return Process
An easy returns process is sometimes the deciding factor in my purchase-making decisions, especially when it comes to online shopping.
Rocksbox includes a pre-paid return label in your box and its shipping envelope is reusable.
This is a very minor thing, but the original labels on the envelope are so easy to remove. There was no need to scrape them off with my fingernails or pick them off in tiny, annoying pieces.
