★★★★★ Jenny & Sue Jewellery · 4.8/5 from 2,732+ reviews

I was sure free earrings were a scam. I ordered anyway. Here's what arrived.

Sharon Cooper, Melbourne

Friends,

When my daughter sent me the link, my first reaction was: nothing in this world is free. I've been around long enough to know that.

I should also tell you something about myself first. I raised two children, worked for thirty years, and somewhere in all of that I stopped buying anything nice for myself. There was always a school uniform, a car repair, a birthday for someone else. It never felt like the right time to spend money on me.

So when my daughter wrote "Mum, these are so you," I nearly deleted the message.

The Sunday earrings I never forgot

My mother had one good pair of earrings. Little blue drops with a pearl, and she wore them every Sunday of her life. Church, Sunday roast, every wedding and every christening. When I was a girl I asked her why she only wore them on Sundays. She said, "Every woman deserves one good pair, love. They remind me I'm worth dressing up for."

After she passed, one of them went missing during the move out of her house. I turned every box upside down. The single one still sits in a little saucer on my dresser. I still think about the other one.

Mum's old album. The earrings felt like they belonged there.

I think that's why my daughter's message got to me. The earrings she sent were blue drops. Just like Mum's.

The catch I kept looking for

A little Australian jewellery shop called Jenny & Sue is retiring after 34 years. Instead of selling off what's left, they're giving their earrings away. You only pay the shipping.

I read every review I could find. I looked for a subscription, a hidden fee, a trick in the fine print. I didn't find one. Thousands of women had ordered and were showing off what they got.

So I decided to try. If it was rubbish, I'd lose a bit of postage money and learn a lesson.

It wasn't rubbish. I went back the same evening and ordered two more pairs.

Why a good pair of drop earrings still means something

Mum wasn't the only one who felt that way about a good pair of earrings. Ask any woman our age and she'll tell you the same quiet things:

These are just the reasons I love them. I wear mine because they make me feel put together, and because they remind me of Mum.

The three pairs I chose

I spent far too long scrolling. In the end I chose three, and each one has its own reason.

What actually arrived

The parcel came a few days later. I'll admit I opened it standing up in the hallway, still half expecting a plastic toy.

Each pair in its own little box, with a handwritten note.

Each pair was in its own little box, wrapped with care, with a handwritten card from Jenny & Sue. The blue catches the light beautifully, and the settings feel solid, not flimsy. The Ocean's Oath pair has a proper weight to it when you move your head.

The first thing I did was put the blue pearl drops on, make a cup of tea, and sit down with Mum's old photo album. I haven't done that in years. I didn't cry. Well, maybe a little.

That's Mum, in her Sunday earrings.

The crystal drops and my sister

My younger sister Carol turned sixty last month. She's the one who always remembers everyone's birthdays, drives everyone to their appointments, and never asks for anything back.

Carol, trying very hard not to cry.

I handed her the Retro Blue Crystal Drops before she even opened her cards. She put them straight on, touched one with her fingers, looked at me and said something I haven't been able to stop thinking about:

"You always remember everyone else, Shaz. Who remembers you?"

I didn't have an answer. I'm not sure many of us do.

What I've noticed since

I wear the Ocean's Oath Earrings almost every morning now. Tea at the kitchen window, the sun coming in, that little flash of blue every time I turn my head. It's silly, but it makes me stand a bit straighter.

My new morning routine.

And people notice. The lady at the chemist asked about them. My neighbour asked where I bought them. When I told her they were free, she didn't believe me either.

Last Thursday I met my friend Jan for coffee. She stopped halfway through a sentence, pointed at my ear and said, "Sharon, where on earth did you get those earrings?"

Jan, the moment she spotted them.

She ordered that night. A pair for herself, and a pair for her daughter-in-law's birthday. She sent me a photo when hers arrived.

The questions I had (and the answers)

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To the woman reading this

If you're anything like me, you've spent years making sure everyone else is looked after. The kids, the grandkids, your partner, your friends, your sister.

I'm not going to tell you what to do. I'll only tell you what Carol told me: someone should remember you too. For me, it started with a little pair of blue drops, just like Mum's.

These are the three I chose. If one of them speaks to you the way they spoke to me, they're still there for now.

Warmly, Sharon

See all the earrings →The jewellery is free · you only cover shipping

When Jenny & Sue close their doors, this offer ends.