Table of Contents
About GLDN
GLDN makes handmade, lovingly crafted jewelry pieces that can be personalized for an added touch. The brand uses a variety of metals of various prices so that their jewelry can be enjoyed by everyone.
This GLDN jewelry review discovered spotlights on the brand in publications and media outlets such as A Cup of Joe, The Strategist, Elle, AOL, Insider, New York Magazine, and The New York Times. The GLDN Jewelry Instagram page has a solid following of 245K, and their Facebook page has 192K.
This GLDN jewelry review will take a close look at the brand and its bestselling jewelry, customer reviews, discounts, and more,to help you decide if this handmade jewelry is the right choice for you and your special someone.
Overview of GLDN
In 2012, Chrissy Lavdovsky opened the GLDN Layered and Long shop on Etsy, where she sold customized jewelry that she made on her kitchen floor. Six years later, GLDN had grown to occupy three workspaces and numbered 85 employees.
Located in the small town of La Conner, WA, GLDN believes that “purpose must go beyond profit. Growth leads to growing contribution. Success is measured by positive impact.” This is why 10% of all the brand’s profits are given to charitable organizations that empower liberation, education, and community building.
GLDN offers three options for their jewelry: 14K gold fill, 14K solid gold, and sterling silver. This allows not only for variety in their pieces, but also greater customer accessibility. The 14K gold-fill items allow the brand to sell high-quality gold pieces for lower prices.
For more information on the difference between gold fill and gold-plated, read the FAQ section of this GLDN jewelry review. Next up, we’ll give you an overview of the brand’s pros and cons.
Pros
- 90% of metals used in jewelry pieces are recycled
- 85% of their pieces are made to order, creating a more sustainable business
- 10% of profits from all GLDN pieces are donated to charity
- Variety of metals to make their jewelry accessible to everyone
- Personalized options available
- Offers repairs and resizing options
- Free shipping code when signing up to their newsletter
- Free standard shipping on US orders of $75 and up, and free rush shipping on US orders of $150 and up
- International shipping options
- 30-day happiness guarantee
- 90-day exchange window
Cons
- Not many customer reviews, so difficult to obtain a rounded picture of the brand from customer POV
GLDN’s jewelry pieces have an emotional feel, with designs that are inspired yet totally down to earth. For example, their charms feature hand-drawn impressions of natural wonders like the moon, constellations, or wildflowers, but are set on long chains for a modern, trendy look.
The variety of GLDN personalized necklaces and GLDN personalized bracelets let you add a further special touch to these already thoughtful gifts. Check out the GLDN Handwriting Necklace, which lets you inscribe your own special message on your jewelry piece while the horizontal bar design of the pendant keeps things simple.
This GLDN jewelry review will now examine the brand’s bestselling necklaces.
GLDN Necklace Review
The GLDN necklaces featured below are full of charm and whimsy. From the ever-popular heart-shaped locket to new-age lunar designs and dainty floral collections, GLDN necklaces take their inspiration from the essence of the natural world.
GLDN Micro Heart Locket Necklace Review
Lockets have a timeless quality about them, and their open-and-close design makes them a perfect symbol for your most profound feelings, the ones you keep deep inside you—an impression that is only strengthened by the iconic heart shape.
The Micro Heart Locket Necklace puts a modern spin on this classic by keeping the locket quite small, which makes it a good option to pair with other, shorter necklaces. Engrave this GLDN heart locket necklace with an initial for even more sentimental value.
Available on an adjustable 17-19” chain in three designs (minimal, mini paperclip, and figaro), this locket comes in 14K gold fill or sterling silver. Keep your loved ones close with the Micro Heart Locket Necklace for $58 (sterling silver) or $67 (gold fill).
GLDN Sunflower Necklace Review
Sweet and dainty, the Sunflower Necklace is one of those pieces of jewelry that provokes a smile, and instantly conveys your positive personality without being overbearing about it: the pendant is a modest 9 mm, but you can bloom a little brighter with a 13 mm option as well.
Part of GLDN’s Flora Collection, the Sunflower Necklace features a charmingly hand-drawn sunflower design and comes on a cable chain that is 17-19” for the 9 mm, or 19-21” for the 13 mm. Express your personality with the Sunflower Necklace, available in three metals and at three price points:
- Sterling silver: $37
- 14K gold fill: $41
- 14K solid gold: $243
GLDN Luna Necklace Review
The full moon holds different meanings for different people, but it exerts a spell on all of us. Whimsical and mysterious at the same time, the Luna Necklace features a hand-drawn rendering of the moon’s surface that will attract attention with its seemingly rough surface, and then reward the viewer when they make the connection.
This magnetic and thought-provoking GLDN moon necklace includes a 19-21” chain for the 13 mm pendant. Choose from the GLDN 14K gold filled edition ($47), or the 14K solid gold ($292) or sterling silver ($40) options. We recommend pairing this with shorter necklaces in other metals for a modern and varied everyday look.
GLDN Small Flora Necklace Review
The elegant Small Flora Necklace would make the perfect gift for your botanist friend or anyone who loves puttering in their garden on a summer’s day. You can choose from 23 hand-drawn designs representing flowers such as the cherry blossom, lotus, orchid, rose, tulip, or wildflower.
Available in 14K gold fill, sterling silver, or 14K solid gold on a 17-19” cable chain, the pendant of this necklace measures 9 mm. Get creative with the Small Floral Necklace, which ranges in price from $37 for the silver, to $41 for the gold fill, to $243 for the solid gold.
GLDN Large Sun Necklace Review
Unlike its namesake, you won’t need to avert your gaze from this shiny Large Sun Necklace. This dazzling and eye-catching necklace would make a great gift for that person who is the center of your universe.
The GLDN sun necklace features a large 16 mm pendant with a striking original design of rays shooting out from an intense center, and comes on a long chain measuring 19-21”. You can get a smaller version of this design with the Sun Beam Necklace.
This necklace looks fantastic on its own, but we also love the idea of pairing it with a GLDN horizontal bar necklace or the Moon and Star Necklace (see below) for a wonderful layering effect. However you want to wear it, you can get the Large Sun Necklace in sterling silver for $44, 14K gold fill for $52, or 14K solid gold for $393.
GLDN Moon & Stars Necklace Review
The Moon & Stars Necklace gets a lovely contrasting effect from the textured crescent moon and the flat stars. Inscribe initials on the stars and present this as a sentimental keepsake to your sweetheart, or add up to four stars and etch the initials of even more loved ones.
Choose a 17-19” or 19-21” chain, or customize the length yourself up to 24”. Feel close to the ones you love with the Moon & Stars Necklace, in either sterling silver for $53 or 14K gold fill for $63.
GLDN Constellation Necklace Review
Looking at constellations in the night sky offers a reassuring sense of permanence and peace in a universe that is ruled by change and chaos. Harness the mysteries of the cosmos with the Constellation Necklace, which is available in three different designs: the Big Dipper, Orion, or Ursa Major.
The 13 mm pendant is suspended from a cable chain measuring 17-19”, 19-21”, or in a custom length of up to 24”. Stargaze at noon with the Constellation Necklace in sterling silver ($44), 14K gold fill ($53), or 14 solid gold ($380).
GLDN Daisy Flower Necklace Review
Some people think that daisies are common, but there’s far more to them than they’re given credit for. They traditionally symbolize such positive qualities as innocence, purity, and new beginnings—which makes the Daisy Flower Necklace a subtle but powerful statement about the importance of simple virtues in an increasingly cynical world.
The pendant on this necklace comes in either 9 mm or 13 mm (with 17-19” and 19-21” chains, respectively), and is available in all three of GLDN’s metal options. Wear this solo for a pretty and delicate look, or pair it with some of Small Flora Necklaces to create a bouquet around your neck.
Simple but meaningful, this necklace is $37 in sterling silver, $41 in 14K gold fill, and $243 in 14K solid gold.
GLDN Jewelry Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
This GLDN jewelry review took a look at customer reviews on gldn.com, Reddit, and Blush and Bar to see what buyers had to say about their jewelry’s quality and design, as well as the brand’s customer service.
The Small Flora Necklace is rated an average of 4.8/5 stars from 25 customers on the brand website. One customer reflected on the personal memories that this necklace can evoke, saying, “Absolutely love my necklace. It’s so dainty and layers so well. I got this necklace to honor my grandmother and her rose garden. It’s such a perfect memento.”
A GLDN jewelry Reddit thread included an account of the brand’s swift and empathetic customer service: “You can tell by the way they package the items that they care, and customer service [has] been great…I got a pair of earrings from GLDN and the backing on one was slightly bent…and they immediately sent me another pair at no extra cost.”
A GLDN review on Blush and Bar that weighs whether the jewelry is actually great or if the brand just uses great marketing reports that, “customers appear to be pleased with the brand’s quality. Many reviews point out how beautiful and dainty the pieces are and that they would consider buying from the brand again.”
Tellingly, though, the same review then goes on to put its finger on one of the blind spots that this GLDN jewelry review ran into: the fact that “the brand’s customer reviews are primarily limited to those on its website, and it’s not listed on reputable customer review sites like Trustpilot…[this is] worth keeping in mind.”
The lack of customer reviews from other sources unfortunately means we have to give a bit more weight to the negative comments on the sources we have, such as this anecdote on gldn.com about an issue with the chain on the Small Flora Necklace: “The product is beautiful, but it broke less than a month into my sister having it, so I wonder about the quality.”
More harshly, a comment on a Reddit thread sniffed at the quality of the 14K gold fill options, saying, “their whole line is gold filled/vermeill huh? If so, this isn’t an investment. Their stuff is just a step above costume jewelry, and the gold color won’t last.”
One counter to that previous criticism is to note that it comes from a contributor who does not seem to have actually purchased an item from the brand, and who is either mistaken or misinformed about GLDN’s product line: as this GLDN jewelry review has shown, the brand offers at least one and frequently two metal options apart from the gold fill.
Is GLDN Jewelry Worth It?
GLDN creates thoughtful and meaningful jewelry pieces that are inspired by the world around us. They have a range of prices and materials, making their jewelry accessible for those who can’t spend over $200 on a necklace. The Reddit comment above claims that GLDN gold filled jewelry pieces come at high prices, but this GLDN jewelry review couldn’t disagree more.
While there are some GLDN gold plated jewelry pieces, mojt of their designs are gold-filled, which is just one step down from solid gold. This GLDN jewelry review believes that $60 is a fair upper price to pay for pieces of that quality, and this is the range that this variety of the brand’s jewelry reliably stays in.
Other perks of the brand include the free shipping options they have available for some orders, free shipping codes, helpful services like repairs and resizing, and free returns and exchanges. And let’s not forget that the brand also gives 10% of their profits to charitable organizations.
For all of these reasons, this GLDN jewelry review believes that the brand’s products are worth the buy.
GLDN Jewelry Promotions & Discounts
There is currently no GLDN jewelry promo code or GLDN jewelry discount code at gldn.com, but the brand does still have its standing perks, including:
- Free standard shipping on US orders of $75 and above
- Free rush shipping on US orders of $150 and up
- Sign up for their newsletters to get a free shipping code, and receive notifications of any upcoming GLDN sale
Where To Buy GLDN Jewelry
GLDN jewelry is available exclusively online. You can purchase their pieces directly from gldn.com, or visit their Etsy shop.
FAQ
What is gold filled jewelry?
The GLDN gold filled vs gold plated question can be explained thusly. Gold-filled jewelry is created when solid gold is pressed down and bonded with brass; it is considered to be just one step down from solid gold.
By contrast, gold-plating involves layering a very thin layer of gold to the outside of another metal. This means that jewelry created with this process contains less gold, and is thus of less value and lower quality than gold-filled jewelry.
How long does GLDN take to ship?
GLDN offers US and international shipping options. Processing times vary, as some items need to be specially made and can take longer than others. Refer to the order page to see how long your item will take to create.
US shipping options include:
- Standard (4-6 business days): $6 or get GLDN free shipping on orders of $75 and above
- Rush (2 business days): $10 or free on orders of $150 and up
- Super Rush (1 business day): $35
International shipping options include:
- Standard (7-15 business days): $8
- Rush (2-3 business days): $27
What is the GLDN Jewelry Return Policy?
Returns are free for US orders within 30 days of purchase. Exchanges can be made within 90 days of purchase. Returns will receive a refund, whereas store credit will be issued for exchanges.
To initiate a return, head to the return page on gldn.com and enter the following information:
- First and last name
- Order number
- Name of your piece
- Specify whether you would like to do a return or exchange
- Add any notes for further information
- Attach pictures of the piece (if applicable)
How to Contact GLDN
If you need any other information that this GLDN jewelry review did not include, you can contact the GLDN customer service team in the following ways:
- Call: (360)630-6337
- Email: [email protected]
- Contact them on Instagram or Facebook @its gldn
GLDN’s customer service hours are 9am-4pm PST, Monday-Friday.
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