My top ten stud earrings for under £100.

Good evening folks. It's Wednesday [I thought it was Thursday for a second - ouch!] and this evening's blog is My top ten stud earrings for under £100. For this mission I am going to use some of my favourite retailers [i.e. the links will not be to the e-shops of the designers]. Let's go...! 

1. Silver forget-me-not earrings by Alex Monroe, from Astley Clarke. £78 [£96 in 18 carat gold vermeil]. I love how dainty they are and I also really like nature-inspired jewellery. Pretty. 

2. Silver bunny stud earrings by Alexis Dove, from Silverado. £48. Cute as a button! What's not to love? Bunnies... silver... jewellery - check! 

3. Gold and ruby dot stud earrings by Embers, from Notonthehighstreet.com. £34.75. I really like the warmth of the ruby in the yellow gold, it's such a great combination. The natural texture of the gold is also a lovely selling point. 

4. Trillion cut stud earrings in labradorite by Amrapali for Dinny Hall, from John Lewis. £75. Trillion cut labradorite? THAT, my friends, is why these made the list. Such a fabulous cut and something from Dinny Hall had to make it. 

5. Astrid studs in black garnet by Katie Diamond, from Catbird NYC. $150 [£90]. Look how pointy they are! Oooo. 

6. Copper circle earrings by Lovely Pigeon, from Hannah Zakari. £18. These are made from brushed copper and formica with silver plated posts. On the cheaper side of the scale but I think they're just lovely. 

7. Turquoise sonatina earrings by Astley Clarke Colour, from Astley Clarke. £75. Turquoise is one of my favourite stones and here it is set in 18 carat yellow gold vermeil. A brilliant way to add colour to your day. 

8. Herkimer diamond solitaire studs from [and by] Erica Weiner. $110 [£65]. As with all Erica Weiner jewellery there is a story that goes with these, so please go to the website and check them out. I think these are wonderful; I have a thing for "rough" stones. 

9. This one is another one that comes straight from the designer's website because I can't find a retailer that stocks this particular brand - Alison Macleod. They were too cute to not include. Just like little pearl studs. £32. 

10. Lastly, I have Pink floral earrings by Les Nereides, from ASOS. £34 [currently on sale from £59]. Les Nereides is one of my favourite "not forever" designers. Their pieces are made from plated brass, and to me that means that they won't last [boooo] which is a shame because their stuff is just amazingly beautiful. Anyway, enough of my rambling, you want to see the studs! 

So there we have it, 10 beautiful pairs of stud earrings. Which ones are your favourites? Please comment below. 

Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of the week, everyone! 

L. x

p.s. Today I wore my Alexis Dove belle hook earrings, my mushroom necklace from Alex Monroe, my engagement ring, cat ring, 3 x silver rings, and a classic gold Casio watch. That's all folks. 

Pearl earrings

Morning to all and to all a good morning. It's Sunday. I've woken with a killer headache [nothing that a good cup of tea and a chocolate digestive won't fix] and the sun is trying to come out from behind a cloud. We went out for dinner last night [fillet steak and chocolate fondant, thank you very much] and today we are just relaxing. 

What has happened since the last entry? Let's see... 

On the 11th of February I found the perfect pair of wedding shoes. After months of searching [with a substantial budget, I might add] I just couldn't find something that did it for me. Then along came the perfect pair from an unusual source... Dorothy Perkins of all places. They were 1/2 price, making them £9 and I'm smitten [the patterned background is a jumper that I bought at the same time]. So that's one less thing to worry about. What else?... 

Ah yes, Valentines Day. The title of this entry somewhat gives away what the boyfriend gave me this v-day; pearl earrings. They are my first pair of pearl studs and they came from Tiffany & Co. I believe they are 8-9mm with sterling silver posts, and the post back is a unique flower shape, which I was not expecting; such a pretty little detail and just for the wearer as no-one can see the back when you're wearing them. Here are some photographs, the one with the pearls is quite dark because we exchanged gifts on v-day evening. I'm sure there will be better photographs in time. Also, note the red ribbon as a nice change from the white! Another nice touch from T&Co. 

One of my wedding rings arrived on the 21st of Feb. I think I'm going to save these photographs for when they are all here, or even for after the wedding. Yes, I'll wait until after the wedding, sorry to keep you waiting folks, but they might not all make the final cut. All will become clear in time. This particular one has a very cute story as the person who made it for me has made other rings for me, so it's very special. 

I've been struggling this week with wedding hair. I'm doing it myself so I want something easy but elegant, fun and boho... ah, it's so hard. Anyway, the look I finally went for, the boyfriend doesn't like, so it was back to the drawing board. I have now reverted back to my original plans [which involve a floral crown - hooray] and I've actually got one ordered, finally, after hundreds of hours searching. Photos to follow once it arrives. I'm doing a lot of shopping in the US [how does one plan a wedding without Etsy??] so there has been a lot of waiting. 

And here we are today, the 2nd of March [where is time going??] and another of my rings arrived yesterday, all the way from Brooklyn, NYC and made by Digby & Iona. As this is primarily a "jewellery blog" I'll show you some of my favourite pieces... [most of their stuff is a bit out there for me, but I do adore their rings]. 

1. Petite pave arrows band - $640 in rose gold with black diamonds, but comes in various precious metals and also with white diamonds. A mere 1.5mm wide, which is perfect for stacking. It's one of my favourites. 

2. Petite Ambro ring - $1330 in 18k rose gold with blue and pink tourmaline and their beautiful wave band [you can buy this as a plain band, without a stone and it's lovely]. This one also comes in various colours, but this particular tourmaline speaks to me, it's just beautiful. These rings are one-offs [I imagine because of the uniqueness of the tourmaline] so once they're gone, they're gone. The cut on these stones is just amazing. The band is 1.5mm thick and the stone is .70ct in weight. If you like stones as much as I do, check out the others in the collection; the colours will blow you away [to tease you, I've included the thumbnails from the website in my image - there are more than these ones though]. 

3. Arrows bangle - $90. Does what it says on the tin! Oxidised sterling silver. 

4. The rakish hand - $360. It's an unusual one this one, and I mean unusual in a good way. It's slightly creepy, but again, in a good way. It's made from sterling silver [oxidised] and is on a 26" sterling chain [I like long necklaces] and I think it's the perfect choice for this particular piece. The hand is wearing an 18k yellow gold diamond ring on its little finger, which is hinged so that it sparkles as it moves. See, I warned you that it was a tad creepy, but the fact that the hand is wearing jewellery itself is amazing. So here it is, the rakish hand...

In my search for wedding rings and wedding jewellery I've come across some amazing companies and designers, all of which I will share with you over time, whether I end up buying from them or not. Designers such as Erica Weiner, Les Nereides and Alison Macleod are all too good to not share, so more from them coming soon. 

I'm still undecided on my wedding jewels - earrings, necklace, bracelet/s. I'm quite keen to wear this though, whatever else I end up wearing [to add a pop of colour and because I'm a stacker through and through]  - make a wish lucky horseshoe bracelet on mint, from Dogeared. I was going to buy direct but their postage was crazy steep to England, so I'm on the look-out of a reputable UK stockist. I've bought dogeared before, and will blog about them some day - I could spend a £1,000 there easily. 

For now I think that's me done. I don't want to bore you and this post has gone on a bit. I'm still aiming to be blogging more regularly, but time is being sucked up at the moment. I'll try and write something again next week. Keep smiling folks, and share some of your favourite designers with me via the comments. 

Thanks for reading, 

L. x