Milestone Birthday Jewellery
A milestone birthday earns a piece that lasts as long as the number does. This is our milestone birthday jewellery for her and for him, for an 18th, 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th or 80th: made by hand in our London workshop in solid silver, gold or platinum, engraved with the year if they'd like it, and chosen so it's still being worn at the next big one. Pick the birthday, and each guide shows you five pieces and the one we'd choose.
18th and 21st birthday jewellery: the first real piece
Eighteen is the legal one and twenty-one is the traditional one, so both get a piece. Studs she'll keep, a charm to start with, her first real ring.
The first proper piece: real pearls, solid silver, small enough to wear every day from now on. Engrave the date and it's the thing she still has at forty.
Full guide: 27 pieces for an 18th →
The traditional gift is the key to the door. Ours is a signet with her initials, a slim ring, or a charm engraved with the year.
Full guide: 40 pieces for a 21st →
Leather and solid silver that adjusts to fit, or a signet on a chain with the year cut into it. The men's picks are on our gifts for him guide.
Milestone birthdays for him →
30th and 40th birthday jewellery: the signature piece
By thirty she knows what she wears. By forty the gift is the one thing she'd never buy herself. Forty is ruby by the old jubilee names, if you want a stone.
The first grown-up piece: something with a point of view, worn daily without ceremony. A signet, a pearl strand, hoops with some weight.
Full guide: 49 pieces for a 30th →
Forty earns the signature piece: one thing with real weight, chosen properly. A signet with her initials, a solid bangle, a hand-cut stone.
Full guide: 34 pieces for a 40th →
Something with weight he'll wear without ceremony, or a signet with his initials: the ring that becomes his signature.
Milestone birthdays for him →
50th and 60th birthday jewellery: the one she never bought herself
These are the birthdays where the gift stops being a treat and becomes the piece. Solid, weighty, engraved with the year on the inside.
Fifty is gold by the old jubilee names. The piece she has admired and never bought: a hand-cut stone, diamond studs, a three-strand pearl necklace, an enamel ring.
Contessa Triple Strand Pearl Necklacefrom £1,950
Mini Halo Stud Earringsfrom £570
Initial Signet Ringfrom £1,050
Sixty is diamond. An heirloom with weight that she puts on once and never takes off, and that gets passed on: a pearl strand, a solid bangle, the heavier silver.
Full guide: 29 pieces for a 60th →
Hand-inlaid enamel in solid silver, or a signet inlaid with hand-cut stone: the ring that settles what he wears, and the one that gets handed on.
Milestone birthdays for him →
70th and 80th birthday jewellery: the heirloom
Nobody searches for a 70th or 80th birthday necklace by accident. These are bought for mothers and grandmothers, usually by more than one person, and they need to be the real thing.
Seventy is platinum by the jubilee names, and the gift most often comes from a daughter or a son. Pearls with real weight, a locket, a bangle engraved with the year, in silver or gold.
Contessa Triple Strand Pearl Necklacefrom £1,950
Oval Touch Locketfrom £1,925
Ellipse Banglefrom £565
Eighty is the birthday the whole family marks. One piece with the date on it, chosen together: a strand of pearls, a locket with the grandchildren inside, a signet with her initials.
Full guide: 28 pieces for an 80th →
The 60th, 70th and 80th gift is usually for mum and usually from more than one of you. Our gifts for mum guide is built for exactly that.
Coco Triple Strand Pearl Necklace£2,980
Dainty Heart Necklacefrom £340
Vermeer Pearl Drop Necklacefrom £405
Milestone birthday jewellery for him
Milestone birthday jewellery for him: 18th to 60th
Men get milestone birthdays too, and the search for them is real: a necklace at 18 and 21, a signet at 40, an heirloom at 60. One pick per age here; the full men's guide is a click away.
Bracelet
Adjustable Woven Leather Braceletfrom £360
18th: leather and silver, adjusts to fit
Necklace
Signet Necklacefrom £445
21st: a signet on a chain, the year cut in
Bracelet
Heavy Link Braceletfrom £680
30th: solid silver with real weight
Ring
Signet Ringfrom £595
40th: a signet with his initials
Ring
Enamel Geo Ringfrom £1,195
50th: hand-inlaid enamel
Ring
Inlaid Signet Ringfrom £1,350
60th: an heirloom, inlaid with hand-cut stone
Milestone birthday jewellery for your daughter, your wife, your mum
The age tells you the weight of the gift. Who she is to you tells you the piece.
Your daughter, at 18, 21 or 30
Her first real piece, made to still be hers at forty. Real pearls, solid silver, engraved with the year.
Full guide: 31 jewellery gifts for your daughter →Your wife, at 40 or 50
The signature piece: one thing with real weight she'd never buy herself. A hand-cut stone, a solid bangle, a signet with her initials.
Full guide: 31 jewellery gifts for your wife →Your mum, at 60, 70 or 80
The heirloom: pearls, a locket, a bangle with the date inside. Usually from all of you together.
Contessa Triple Strand Pearl Necklacefrom £1,950
Oval Touch Locketfrom £1,925
Dainty Heart Necklacefrom £340
Milestone birthday jewellery by birthstone
Birthstones aren't a rule; they're a way in. Most of our signets, charms and discs can take a birthstone on request.
Amethyst, for February
A hand-cut amethyst in solid silver: the Bardot ring is the piece we're asked about most on a 40th and 50th.
Amethyst, the February birthstone →Pearl, for June
Real freshwater pearls, from a first pair of studs at 18 to a three-strand necklace at 60.
Betty Pearl Studsfrom £170
Contessa Triple Strand Pearl Necklacefrom £1,950
Hope Round Pearl Necklacefrom £490
Garnet, for January
January is the birthstone we're asked about most. Set into a signet, a charm or a disc on request, in silver or gold.
Garnet, the January birthstone →
Engraving
Engraved with the year
The year, the date, her initials or a line only she'll understand: engraved by hand in our workshop, hidden on the inside of a ring or bangle or worn on the face of a signet. From (£X, confirm) a letter. Engraved pieces can't be returned, so if you're unsure of the size, order it plain and we'll engrave it together afterwards.
The giving
Seal it inside a heart she has to break
We wrap the piece in soft cloth and seal it inside a plaster heart, hand painted in the colour you choose. To reach what's inside, she has to crack it open. (Price, confirm.)
If it isn't right, we'll fix it
Size is the reason people hesitate to buy jewellery for someone else. Don't. Make your best guess. Here's what happens if it isn't right.
Wrong size
Return the ring unworn, in its packaging with the receipt, within 14 days and we'll exchange it for the right size. (Confirm: free, or customer pays return postage.)
Wrong piece
Return it within 14 days of delivery, unworn and in its original packaging, for an exchange, credit note or refund. Engraved and bespoke pieces can't come back, so if you're unsure, gift it plain and we'll engrave it together afterwards.
The timeline
Ready-to-ship pieces leave the workshop within days. Made-to-order and engraved pieces take up to 4 weeks. Buying against a date? Call +44 20 7359 4977 before you order and we'll confirm it will make it.
In time, and on time
Buying for a date?
Ready-to-ship pieces dispatch fast; made-to-order takes up to 4 weeks. Call us with your deadline and we'll tell you honestly.
Shipping
Free UK shipping on orders over £100.
Made here
Dispatched direct from our London workshop.
Milestone birthday questions
What is the traditional gift for a 21st birthday?
The key to the door: at twenty-one you were given your own front-door key, the sign you could come and go as you pleased. The age of majority dropped to eighteen in 1969, so now both birthdays get the party. In jewellery it's become a signet with her initials, or a charm or key on a chain, engraved with the year.
What jewellery do you buy for an 18th birthday?
The first proper piece: real pearl studs, a solid silver charm bracelet with the first charm, or a slim ring she'll wear every day. Real, not plated, and small enough to become a habit. Engrave the date and it's the thing she still has at forty.
What jewellery is right for a 40th birthday?
One thing with real weight, chosen properly: a signet with her initials, a solid bangle, a hand-cut stone she'll be asked about. Forty is ruby by the old jubilee names, if you want a stone; an amethyst or an enamel ring does the same job.
What jewellery do you buy for a 50th or 60th birthday?
The piece she has admired and never bought herself: diamond studs, a three-strand pearl necklace, a hand-cut stone, an enamel ring at fifty; at sixty, the heirloom that gets passed on, a pearl strand, a solid bangle, the heavier silver, engraved inside with the year.
What do you give for a 70th or 80th birthday?
Something that outlives the day, usually chosen by the family together: a strand of pearls with real weight, a locket with the grandchildren inside, a bangle with the date engraved inside. Seventy is platinum by the jubilee names and eighty is oak, but gold and silver are what get worn.
Do milestone birthdays have stones or metals?
Not officially: the jubilee names (ruby for forty, gold for fifty, diamond for sixty, platinum for seventy) come from anniversaries and reigns, and jewellers borrow them for birthdays. Birthstones are the other way in. Neither is a rule; the right stone is the one she'll wear.
Can it be engraved with the year or the date?
Yes, by hand in our workshop: inside a ring or bangle, on the back of a charm, on the face of a signet. Engraving adds (X days, confirm) and engraved pieces can't be returned, so if you're unsure of the size, gift it plain and we'll engrave it together afterwards.
What if I don't know her size?
Make your best guess and order. If it's wrong, return the piece unworn within 14 days and we'll exchange it for the right size. (Confirm: free, or customer pays return postage.) Bangles come in three sizes, most necklaces need none, and rings can be resized.
All Milestone Birthday Jewellery
111 pieces
Every piece here is designed and made by hand in our Islington workshop for a milestone birthday: an 18th, 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th or 80th. Solid silver, gold or platinum, engraved with the year if they'd like it, and chosen so it's still being worn at the next big one.
