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Rent spectacular bling for your party

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  • You can drape yourself in diamonds and pearls without buying them
  • Some companies rent expensive party "bling"
  • You can rent by day, week or month
  • Online jeweler's rates are cheaper to members
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By Maureen Clarke
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(LifeWire) -- Spicing up a winter party dress with diamonds won't force you to leverage your life savings - if you don't mind renting your jewelry.

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Diamonds of Palo Alto rents this $100,000 dazzling diamond necklace for the much less intimidating price of $2,290 per day.

Keiko Iwaisako rented a Charriol diamond necklace for the month of December from Seattle-based online jeweler Bag Borrow or Steal. She plans to wear it to one of the office holiday parties.

With shipping and insurance, her total for the month was $328. Retail value: $2,595. The experience: Priceless.

"I love it. I felt like I'd received an adorable gift when I opened the package," says Iwaisako, vice president of Entrepia Ventures, a venture capital firm in California's Silicon Valley.

For as little as 10 percent of retail, even the Cinderellas among us can twinkle for a night with minimum hassle or risk.

"I'm not willing to spend a lot of money on accessories," Iwaisako says. "If I were buying all my jewelry, I'd need to settle for lower quality. Borrowing gives me access to the best."

Weekly rentals for members of Bag Borrow or Steal run from $6 to $265 for a wide range of precious and semiprecious jewelry. Monthly rental rates are about $20 to $800. The company also rents designer handbags by Kate Spade and Fendi, and vintage purses from Gucci and Hermes, among others.

Members like Iwaisako score the best deals on the most sought-after accessories. To join the service renters pay $5 a month for the year, $6.65 a month for three months or $9.95 for just one month. Return shipping is $9.95, and insurance is $3 to $30, depending on the piece.

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Iwaisako joined four months ago, and so far she has rented two diamond necklaces. She says it makes her feel less wasteful. "I like variety, but I don't like to have a lot of things in my closet."

More for less

"We started the company to give access to women who wouldn't have access," says Pat Hambrick, chief of marketing for Bag Borrow or Steal. "But in fact, many of our clients are professional women who simply want more."

The company offers a range of high-end designers -- from Juicy Couture to David Yurman to Vera Wang -- and everything is guaranteed to be authentic, complete with certificate.

Customer Tracy Tanwar is a kindergarten instructor in Fort Worth, Texas, who likes having that access. "I get to wear things I couldn't afford as a teacher," she says.

"I wanted something unique for a class reunion in November," Tanwar says. "So I rented a beautiful Stephen Dweck amber necklace ($50), earrings ($35) and ring ($50), and I got loads of compliments."

Tanwar says the process took five minutes -- she ordered online, the company called to verify her information, and the jewelry arrived two days later. "It was the simplest experience."

Blinding bling

Bag Borrow or Steal isn't the only company that knows rented diamonds are a girl's best friend. The rental-jewelry selection at Diamonds of Palo Alto is limited and very pricey, but their classic gemstones pack a wallop.

"We have a lot of big pieces we lend to people who really want to sparkle for a lifetime occasion," says Ruth Bravo, office manager of the 20-year-old company.

The most dazzling piece is an 89-stone diamond necklace with three optional pendants worth $95,950. It rents for $2,290 a day.

More affordable is their simple pearl jewelry. A $3,000 strand of top-quality pearls rents for $100 a day; coordinating studs are $63. A range of colored- diamond jewelry is available as well.

"I don't have a membership club because I'm very cautious," says owner Israel Zehavi. Insurance, included in the rental price, covers loss or theft, but security is tight. Read: no credit cards - cash or wire transfers only.

Zehavi began lending jewelry as a sporadic, honor-based service to faithful local customers. Now he rents about one piece a month to clients nationwide, mostly to brides or their mothers.

"They start with me when they get engaged," Zehavi says. "Then I say I'd like to be their jeweler for life."

No buyer's remorse

Rentals help to build that sort of customer loyalty by eliminating buyer's remorse. It's particularly well-suited for someone who may not wear jewelry often, or someone who wants to wear a variety of jewels without the financial burden of ownership, Hambrick says.

Last month, Iwaisako rented a Vera Wang freshwater pearl and pavé diamond snowflake necklace for $150 and loved it for the first couple of weeks. "Then, I have to admit, I got a little tired of it," she says. The piece retails for $1,780 - not a cheap mistake.

"But this way, I have no regrets," Iwaisako says. "I got the best of both worlds."

Of course, if you have decided that you want a diamond (or other bauble) forever and think its value might appreciate over time, then owning may be the better strategy. "If it's something you think you want keep forever, you should consider buying it," Hambrick says. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

LifeWire provides original and syndicated lifestyle content to Web publishers. Maureen Clarke is a freelance writer and senior editor at Frommer's travel guides.

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