What's the most unique gift for her you've ever given? Think hard, because it may take you some time to come up with the answer. You see, the best gift may not always be the most showy or expensive. Often, what recipients remember are unique personalized gifts rather than flashy generalized ones. Especially if the recipient is a woman, she is sure to greet a unique gift for her with great delight.

Someone once complained that the rituals of gift giving and receiving were too women-orientated and men were redundant in this charmed circle. Well, from experience, we have found that while men usually require a formal occasion to give or receive a gift, women are more comfortable with making and receiving informal, personalized gifts, not to celebrate or mark any special occasion but just because they want to.

Therefore, if you are looking for something that will make your special woman happy, make sure it is a unique gift idea. Whether it is your wife or girlfriend, your gift should be unique. "A lot of men I know think most women are happy with such generic items as perfumes or scarves," relationship counselor Marianne Hines told us. "You'd be surprised at the number of relationships that have come close to breaking point because the men weren't sensitive to the kind of gifts the women expected."

Are we trying to scare you? Probably! While it is true that your girlfriend may like perfume, she may prefer Miss Dior Cherie to Revlon's Fire & Ice. So there is a difference, whatever you might think. Then again, a Balenciaga scarf may go down well while a Fendi might not. The point is, whatever gift you buy, keeping her preferences in mind will show that you care enough to come up with a unique gift idea exclusively for her.

"I have known men who actually buy gifts by lot for such occasions as Valentine's Day!" laughs Marianne. "That's a disaster." We agree, because special occasions like Valentine's Day are absolutely tailor-made for a man to show his particular appreciation and love for a special woman, so when you think up a unique Valentine's gift, you can be sure of making a big impact!

"What exactly do women want?" asks a baffled Gerry Modigliani from New York, frustrated by his attempts to think up a unique gift idea for his fiancée. Buy gift jewelry Gerry, seriously. Traditional and time-honored it may be, but gift jewelry has never really gone out of fashion, and a girl still likes pearl and crystal next to her skin.

To keep up with the times, the gift jewelry market has now become so specialized and diversified that it is a walk in the park to find just the color and designs that will appeal to a particular recipient. Gone are the days when you had to make a choice between pearl drops and danglers and not much else. The market today is flooded with gift jewelry in every conceivable material, theme and color, and all of it at an affordable level. Indeed, when you buy gift jewelry today, you hardly ever burn a hole in your pocket because it is so very reasonably priced. And with online shopping sites thriving like never before, a unique gift for her is just a click away!