It seems like every year the “back to school” ads start running earlier and earlier. Shopping for actual supplies can be a pain for my daughter, because she doesn’t want to acknowledge that school is starting soon, but for the clothing part of it, I feel like we spend all summer going to the mall or perusing websites, trying to find her the latest fashion. This year my husband and I decided that fashion would include a diamond necklace.   Phantom 105 Pendant with 105 faceted center diamond We have always been (what we think) fair but firm when it came to issues like wearing makeup and jewelry, the type of clothing she wears, how she styles her hair, you know, all the typical things that lead to arguments between parents and teenaged daughters. We let her pierce her ears when she was younger, but did not give her a pair of diamond earrings until she was thirteen. For us, it was a big step because it gave her a chance to display how responsible she was.   She proved to be even more responsible than we thought. Not only did she not lose the diamond earrings, she took better care of them than I do my own fine diamond jewelry. She found that the jewelry store we bought them from offers jewelry cleaning services, so twice a year, she would have us take her downtown so they could be cleaned and inspected to make sure nothing had happened to them.   Seeing how good she was with her earrings made buying her a diamond necklace a no-brainer. She turned sixteen over the summer, and I could tell she was a little disappointed that we did not give her any diamond jewelry as a gift. That was because my husband and I were waiting. We felt that part of the reason for giving the gift was because she was growing up, and as such, she should have some say in the style of diamond necklace. So last Saturday when we were out shopping, we told her we had one more stop. When we parked in front of the jewelry store, she hugged us both and said we were the greatest parents ever. We’ll see how long that lasts, but she did pick out a beautiful diamond necklace.