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

Friday night is alright - Fine jewellery auction at Sotheby's.

We're chilling out with some America sweets that I got from a new sweet shop on my way home from work and watching some new American horror series on Netflix. Of course I am also skipping through the pages of the Internet, looking at sparkly things. What is it tonight, you ask? Well, let me share... 

SOTHEBY'S! Yes! Auctions. They have a fine jewellery auction coming up and seriously, these jewels could not be more beautiful. There are lots and lots of lovely things to look at but I do, of course, have my favourites. So, here they are... 

Lot 23 :: Amethyst, peridot, and enamel necklace, early 20th century. 

Isn't this just beautiful? Look at the intricate baskets that the gems are sitting in, and the colours - oh, the colours! Estimated at £2,000 - £3,000. 

Lot 83 :: Emerald, Ruby, and Diamond ring. Look at those rubies, that cabochon emerald, those sparkly diamonds! This is a rare beauty, when do you see emeralds looking like THAT?! For crying out loud, it's amazing. Estimated at £3,800 - £4,800. 

Lot 144 :: Lady's diamond wristwatch, Jaeger LeCouture, 1960's. Estimated at £3,000 - £4,000 and worth every penny [in my opinion]. This, along with the emerald ring are utter perfection to me. I'd have them both if I could. I could look at this watch all day. It has also made me want to look into "Jaeger LeCouture", which I'll do when I'm finished here. Elegant, beautiful, feminine. 

Lot 196 :: Pair of coral and diamond pendant earrings. Estimated at £1,500 - £2,000. Seriously, I'm not sure I can cope with all this glamour. I have a thing for this style of earrings after seeing THESE [link] earrings from Les Nereides and these earrings really remind me of them. Of course the Les Nereides are much more within my price range, but a girl can dream - right? 

Lot 283 :: Pair of sapphire and diamond pendant earrings, 1920s. Estimated at £5,000 - £7,000. Talking of glamour... oh, my... Look at the cut of those sapphires, and those diamonds. These are from the 1920s and I can only daydream about the glamorous life of the first owner. *le sigh* 

Lot 1847 :: Jadeite bead, ruby, and diamond necklace, Cartier, circa 1933. Yes, you read that correctly. Jadeite, ruby, diamond and CARTIER. My word... look at that catch, and that ruby red against that jadeite green. Just stunning. Please go to the link and have a play around with the zoom feature, those jadeite beads are stunning. The estimate must be more than I'll earn in a lifetime because it is available upon request. Oooo... 

Anyway, I've blabbered enough for a Friday night. I just wanted to share these finds with you. I can pretty much guarantee that this is not the last time I'll be talking about Sotheby's - there are lots, and lots of lovely, beautiful things that need to be talked about. 

G'night. 

Thanks for reading, 

L. x 

Pink stones.

I am going to point out that I'm not a girly girl. Well, I like handbags, and nail polish, and blusher, and scarves… (this isn't helping my point, is it?) but I'm not a pink and fuzzy kind of girl. I do, however, like a pink stone. This is a recent development and I'll show you the ring that turned me… 

Alexis Dove's bespoke India ruby ring. 

Just look at its beauty. That's a ruby! It's cloudy, and gold, and beaded, and hammered, and…and… *breathe* bespoke… and locally made. Could it be more perfect? I think this is a rose cut, as that's the cut that Alexis seems to favour. And this is more than okay by me. It's an unusual but stunning cut and I would wear one proudly. She features some beautiful grey stones on her website, but this post is about pink stones, so I'll save those for another time… 

What to look at next? Well, I guess I should mention the pink diamond, which falls in the "fancy colour" category of diamonds. It's not my favourite of the pink stones, but it is certainly worth a mention. Coincidentally, this week, the most expensive diamond in the world sold for £52million at auction. This was a pink diamond and you can read all about it here. It is called Pink Star and is a huge 1.06 inches x 0.81 inches and a whopping 60 carats. It is mounted on a ring, and here is a photograph of that ring… look at those tiny claws holding in that massive stone! I'd quite like to see it on a finger. 

The next items all come from Astley Clarke, one of my favourite online jewellery retailers. I have spent far too many hours on their website, I'm surprised they've not noticed! 

A slightly more modest pink diamond, featured on a ring by Hilier. Yours for £295. 

A more subtle shade of pink can be found in the stone Chalcedony. This pink Chalcedony ring is a part of Astley Clarke's Colour collection and costs £135. You'll come to notice that I like milky stones, I think they are so very pretty. 

Marian Maurer's micro stud earrings show off these pink sapphires rather well, I think. £260. I'll feature Marian Maurer soon because she is one of my favourite designers. 

Next up is pink tourmaline, found in these lovely drop earrings by Pippa Small. A little on the high side at £625, but stunning all the same. Look at those crackles, and bursts of pink colour within the stone. These in particular are a lovely natural shape, and dangly earrings are a weakness of mine! 

There are of course other pink stones, but if I told you all about all of them now then we would have nothing to chat about in the future. 

Enjoy!