Digby & Iona - my favourites

Happy Sunday! The weekend is here, the daffodils are starting to show their faces, and the sun is trying to peek out from behind the clouds. We went rummaging around antique shops yesterday to find goods for my new Etsy shop - The Velveteen Box [Trinket Box], we also had a hot chocolate and a sausage roll and it was a lovely day. 

But enough about all of that, I am here today to share one of my favourite jewellery houses with you [I did mention them back in 201]... Digby and Iona. One of my wedding rings is from D&I and I just love their quirky style. Here are some of my favourite pieces... 

The Ambro .70ct. 
This stunning example of a watermelon tourmaline speaks directly to my heart. I am hoping that 2015 is the year that I own a watermelon tourmaline and it may be in the shape of this ring, who knows? This ring is made from 18k rose gold and has D&I's wonderful wave engraving on the band. Perfection. $1330. 

Here's a sneaky picture of another one of D&I's watermelon tourmalines, this time an aqua coloured version...

Convict love token necklace. This charming necklace is exactly that - charming. It can be personalised with your and your partner's initials, which I think is just lovely. It is made from oxidised bronze and comes on a rope [I'm not too keen on the rope - I'd put it on a chain]. As with most of D&I's designs, there's a lovely history to accompany it. $190 with initials, $150 without. 

Ouroboros signet ring. Anyone who knows me knows that mixed metals are my thing. I've been mixing my metals since a time when it was not considered the done thing and items like this signet ring make me happy. The snake also helps. Snake jewellery is wonderful. The signet ring is made from sterling silver and the snake is solid 14k rose gold that has been inset. It's a pretty big, statement piece, but I think it's beautiful. $280. 

Mens wave band. We discovered, when shopping for The Husband's wedding ring, that it is surprisingly difficult to find interesting bands for men. There are trays upon trays of plain bands, with absolutely no character and seeing something like this band from D&I makes me smile. I think it would make a perfect wedding band. $920. 

Battle diagram ring. Another one for the men; the battle diagram ring. I think it's very interesting and again, would make a lovely wedding band. Sterling silver. $150. 

Boat wave studs. These lovely little studs match the above rings perfectly. $360. 

There we have it, some beautiful pieces from this lovely brand. Perfect if you're looking for that vintage sailor look. 

Until next time, folks... 

L. x

Catch up - Shaun Leane talons and hooks from the Tusk collection.

Hey guys, I hope you're all well. 

I've been really busy with wedding planning and working far too much, so I'm sorry that I've neglected the blog somewhat. I've not been neglecting jewellery though, so I've got some bits and bobs to share with you at some point. I've made a few jewellery purchases for the wedding, as well as a couple of costume pieces for everyday. I've not bought anything high-end though as funds are having to be spent wisely at the moment. 

I cannot stop thinking about a pair of earrings that I saw a sales assistant wearing in a shop in Brighton and I can't wait until I can freely spend my money again because I need them in my life. I want both of these pairs to wear for different occasions. They actually sell the smaller ones in a jewellers not too far from me, so I can go and drool over them when I fancy. They will make it on to my birthday wish list later in the year if I've not managed to get them by then (and with the wedding fast approaching I don't think I will have managed before then). 

1. Shaun Leane silver talon earrings. 

2. Shaun Leane silver and rose gold vermeil hook earrings size 1

What else has happened? I've received my wedding present, which I'll show you after the wedding. We've bought my Groom's wedding ring. I'll show you my new snake collection when I've got good enough light to be able to take some photos. 

So, sadly, I think that's it for now. I'm working hard on putting things in place for an exciting future endeavour, which I'll share with you all one day. Fingers crossed for now. 

Have a great evening and I'll write again soon. 

Thanks for reading, 

L. x

Sunday spotlight - Mociun

Happy Sunday! I wish I could say it was a "sunny Sunday" but nope, we've had a visit from the April showers today. But hey-ho, it has meant that I have been able to obsessively research things for the wedding & cook a lovely roast pork dinner. I'd love to take credit for the roast pork dinner, but the ingredients came from Waitrose and I don't think anyone could cook a bad meal from Waitrose ingredients! 

Anyway, back to the jewels. An email from YLANG23 reminded me that I've not shared one of my favourite designers with you yet - Mociun [pronounced motion]. 

One of my favourite things about Mociun is Caitlin's use of turquoise. I love the stuff; it's vibrant & eye-catching and pairs so very well with gold and diamonds, and Mociun uses a lot of all three of these things. 

As it was inspiration from YLANG23 that encouraged me to write this blog entry, it's only fair that I start with my favourite items from their website.

Mociun's mismatched stud earrings are delightful. I adore mismatched jewellery, and these are a great balance between being fun and not cheap! 

Squares: 14 karat yellow gold; turquoise and two baguette diamonds; £542.47. 

Triangles: 14 karat yellow gold; turquoise and diamonds; £246. 

[There are also oblongs and circles, and triangles in black onyx and lapis] - black onyx and lapis are another two of my favourite stones. 

Peach sapphire mix ring: One of a kind; 14 karat yellow gold; peach sapphires; £2,031.11. 

Now on to the Mociun website... 

I discovered Mociun when I was shopping for my wedding rings. The following ring was in my top two and lost out only to the one I finally ordered. I am at peace with this as I think I'll still buy it one day. 

Single band moon and stars ring: $734. 

Turquoise and diamond ring: $1,587. 

Etched lines band: $345. 

Stacked sapphire ring [with red diamonds]: $874. 

Moon and stars ring: $2,277.

 Turquoise and diamond square circle triangle necklace: $1,898. 

There we have it, some of my favourite pieces [not all, I need to save some for another time]. I hope you've seen many things that you like. 

What else have I been looking at today? Well... 

This beautiful running fox locket from Heather Scott. It's hand engraved and just perfect, in my opinion. It even has a lovely heart on the catch. 

I've also been eyeing up some vintage Chanel pieces. I need to have at least one piece in my life pretty soon. Here's a gorgeous bracelet for us to look at for now. Don't even get me started on all the lovely earrings and necklaces. 

Finally, from Anthropologie, I cannot stop popping by to look at this Azolla bib necklace. I'd love to team this up with a black maxi skirt and black vest. 

 

And I was going to treat myself to these bracelets, but the website says they run small at only 6.5 inches. My wrists struggle with a 7 inch, so it's a no go for me, which is sad. 

We've also spent part of today looking at vintage watches and tie pins for my Groom to wear for our wedding. I'd give up new before I gave up vintage. There are so many lovely pieces already out there for us to enjoy. 

Anyway, I've rambled enough. I'll be back soon...

Thanks for reading, 

L. x

If I had £1,000 right now... Monica Vinader

Good evening, folks. I've had a full Monday at work, I've just finished watching the last ever episode of Gossip Girl and I would like an imaginary £1,000 to spend. 

Of course, if you gave me £1,000 right now, it would go into my "dream ring fund", details of which I'll share another day, but for now let's play the game...

I don't want to go too far to spend my £1,000 so I'm going to make a single trip... to Monica Vinader. I adore her use of liquid-esque metals and stunning gemstones, as well as her combinations of lapis and yellow gold, and rose quartz with rose gold. Her designs are some of my favourites, so it only makes sense for my imaginary shop to take place there. It's just very tricky narrowing it down to £1,000!

So, MV has creating an amazing collection where you can mix and match various pendants to create a beautiful necklace. They have one of those nifty online tools to make your own and I've done just that. This stunner can be yours [or mine] for £575 [breakdown to follow]...

1. I chose the 32" sterling silver Lungo chain for £210. I like the little hoop that you can use to attach all of the pendants. 

2. I then added my favourite pendant, the rose gold vermeil Marie. It looks like an old Pirate coin and I love it. Of course I'll be mixing my metals for this necklace, it's what I do! £125. 

3. Then I added the Riva gold vermeil ingot for £105. This isn't my cup of tea on its own, but when added in this combination I think it's just stunning. 

4. Then the Ava small round pendant in sterling silver. A bargain at £40, and a well-balance addition, in my opinion.  

6. Then, last but not least, I added the siren bezel pendant in yellow gold vermeil with blue lapis [one of my favourites]. £95. 

Isn't this the perfect necklace?! Here are a couple of ready made ones from the MV website so get the creative juices flowing. 

Anyway, I've got a further £425 to spend, so I want some things to match this lovely piece... 

For £130 I would buy the Siren ring in 18ct rose gold vermeil with moonstone. I love the natural shape of the stone and the rose hue of the pink gold. Beautiful. 

That leaves me with £295... 

Which is exactly what these Siren medium drop earrings in rose gold vermeil and rose quartz cost. Handy, right?

I don't think my choices are too bad at all and that was really fun. I'll be spending more imaginary £1,000, I can assure you of that. I think I need to play the Lotto this weekend! 

Take care, thanks for reading. 

L. x

Wedding sneak peak - my earrings

Happy Sunday fellow jewellery lovers. I am having a really hard time picking out the perfect jewellery for the wedding. My jewellery is very important to me [obviously] so making the right choices for our big day is daunting. 

I was originally looking for something classic; pearls, diamonds, rose quartz... but after hours, and hours [literally, many hours] of searching, over many, many months I purchased some earrings on a whim, from a brand that I'd been coveting but had not actually bought anything from before - Les Nereides. I know, I can hear the gasps, it's risky, but ladies and gents... it paid off! 

I took a risk with these; I'd never seen anything from Les Nereides in the flesh, so they could have looked cheap and plasticky. Thank goodness that they look quite the opposite. Here is what the website showed me... 

And here are mine... [in a vintage box that one of my wedding rings came in]

Aren't they amazing?! Yes, yes they are. They are weighty [in a good way], the enamelling is beautiful, the stone sparkles and is vivid in colour. They are going to look amazing with my floral crown. I'm not a confident person, so these little touches will help me to feel special on the day. Here is a picture of me wearing one of them... [excuse my dry ears, please] and it helps to show that they are actually a lot smaller than they look. 

So there we have it. My wedding earrings. I'm seriously considering buying a bracelet or two from Les Nereides to tie the look together. I don't have to worry about a necklace, so the bracelets are all that's left. Phew! 

L. 

March = Aquamarine

Happy Saturday. Boy I am happy the weekend is here. Let's get going... 

Birthstones. We've all got one. Mine is peridot. The birthstone for March [March, we are in you] is the beautiful Aquamarine. Aquamarine translates as "water of the sea" in Latin and is the blue variety of the gemstone beryl. Yes, beryl. Siblings with such other beauties as emerald and morganite [morganite = swoon].  

Here's a fact from good ol' Wikipedia >> 

Sadly I don't own any aquamarine jewellery [yet] so I can't show you any of mine. However, I will show you some lovely aquamarine pieces from around the t'internet. Where should we begin? Gemstones... hmm.. Astley Clarke, of course! Gemstone jewellery at its... finest?! Let the search begin! 

Of course AC has not let me down, look at this beauty - Aquamarine Cocktail ring by Astley Clarke Tearoom. £2,450. Not only does it have a halo [which of course I love*] but it has a beautiful basket and it gives a good amount of finger coverage. It is made from white gold and has 4.46 carats of aquamarine; what a great example of how beautiful this gemstone can be. 

* My engagement ring is a sapphire halo. 

For something much less showy, but even more beautiful, AC has this stunning milky aquamarine ring by Astley Clarke Couture. £2,750. This would be my pick from the aquamarine on the AC website. I think it's the bezel against the milky stone that does it for me. It's very low profile so it would be great for every day wear. 

We can't look at rings all day, can we? Let's see what else we can find to showcase this beautiful stone. Maybe Tiffany & Co can offer us something? 

I am not disappointed, folks. Look at these amazingly petite but beautiful Elsa Peretti, Colour by the yard, aquamarine stud earrings. Sterling silver, .12 total carat weight. £360. 

Up next we have these 'oui' earrings from Dior. They match their famous 'oui' ring, which also comes in aquamarine, but I thought these were a less obvious choice. I have searched and searched but I cannot find a price for these, sorry. They are white gold. The basket, holding the aquamarines, is made up of the word 'oui'. Very sweet! 

It's all been a bit pricey recently, so let me look for something a little more affordable...

This very pretty aquamarine birthstone bracelet from NOTHS.com, by Between you & I, is a lovely way to proudly wear your birthstone. It's £39, made from sterling silver, and is made with 4mm aquamarine beads. 

Of course it wouldn't be my blog without a mention of Alex Monroe. Here is his aquamarine 8mm Hoya ring in 18ct yellow gold. The Hoya is one of my favourite pieces from AM and one day I *will* own the 8mm morganite. £945. It is so refreshing to see some aquamarine set in yellow gold as it is almost always set in white gold or silver. I guess its icy tone lends itself well to the coolness of those metals. 

I was going to end it there but in my travels I found a lovely ring [sorry that there have been so many rings in this post] on net-a-porter and I couldn't not share it. 

I adore flower clusters, but at £4,000 this one is currently out of budget. 

22 karat gold, 6 carat total weight of aquamarine, the petals actually rotate, and it is just beautiful. Made by Munnu The Gem Palace. 

There's lots of lovely aquamarine out there, so go and take a look. Do you have a friend or relative with a birthday in March? Did you get married in March? Mother's Day is coming up. Or you could just celebrate that it's the weekend. 

Enjoy your Sunday & you might even hear from me again tomorrow. 

I ordered my first ever Birch Box today. Get me! If you don't know what a Birch Box is, please go and have a look - they send you various cosmetics samples each month as well as how-to guides and the such. I'll update you when I receive mine. My Erica Weiner wedding band was also dispatched today, so I'm hoping to have that within the next few weeks. 

I'm off to watch Life of Pi.

Thanks for reading, 

L. x 

Howdy - Happy Thursday

Evening to all. I don't have long to go as it's only 45 minutes to bedtime but I thought it would be nice to say hello before I go. My day at work was cray-cray busy but I got through it and it's almost the weekend. 

I went for a classic look today by wearing my Tiffany & Co pearl stud earrings, and here is me today... 

And here is Lord Fox-a-lot, my fox necklace from Alex Monroe. 

This is what he looks like when not being photographed by an amateur on an iPhone... 

Isn't he gorgeous?! That reminds me. If you like foxy jewellery, which I do, then Alexis Dove makes an awesome fox ring which I am yet to get my hands on, but I hope to one day. 

What have I seen today that I like? A-ha, I did a search for "California necklace" earlier. I love California, it is special to me, so I would like to have that love hanging around my neck at some point. This is what Google came back with: 

The California necklace by Kris Nations. I was tempted to buy the silver one, but it says that it is "silver overlay". What does this mean? Silver plated brass, perhaps? No thank you. If it was solid sterling silver then I'd be very, very tempted. Anyway, it's a lovely design and comes in cute packaging - $42. 

I am watching a bit of Gossip Girl as I type. I'm really behind and only on season 4. The fiance is napping on the sofa, and the cat is napping on the armchair. In my head I'm swanning around like Blair in New York, buying up Louis Vuitton totes, Hermes scarves, and Tiffany & Co diamonds by the yard. Alas, I am here but I've got lots of online sparkly things to look at, so life is not bad at all. 

I guess that's it for tonight, it was only supposed to be a quickie. I'll come back soon with something more substantial. 

Thanks for reading, 

L. x

update: 

I forgot to add that this morning, on my way to work, I came across an amazing thing... the Chanel Candy necklace! I used to love these candy sweets as a kid, and I've never had the urge to buy anything Chanel monogrammed but this collection has me smitten. From what I can gather, it comes out in August, but here is a sneak-peak...